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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hand — help
  9. charge — a price
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — the animal
  13. press — newspapers
  14. kick — in football
  15. press — a publisher
  16. band — a ring
  17. charge — electricity
  18. band — a music group
  19. bear — the animal
  20. press — to push
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. charge — in control
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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