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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. tear — to rip
  4. kick — in football
  5. mark — a grade
  6. scale — in music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bulb — for light
  15. press — to push
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. press — a publisher
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mark — a trace
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com