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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. drill — army training
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — in a race
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — a phone
  24. press — newspapers

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