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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spell — magic
  3. pound — a weight
  4. field — farmland
  5. tear — from crying
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. field — a subject
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — for sport
  12. spell — letters
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — in football
  15. press — to push
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. object — a thing
  23. branch — a division
  24. object — an aim

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