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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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. tear — to rip
  12. press — a publisher
  13. squash — to crush
  14. press — to push
  15. squash — the sport
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cap — a hat
  18. present — there
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. present — the time now
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cap — a lid

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