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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. press — newspapers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cold — an illness
  14. snap — to click
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — to trim
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. last — to go on
  19. press — a publisher
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. tear — to rip
  22. press — to push
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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