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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. club — a group
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — to rip
  18. club — for golf
  19. tear — from crying
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. hide — animal skin

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