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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. press — newspapers
  3. fork — in a road
  4. press — a publisher
  5. snap — to click
  6. cap — of ice
  7. press — to push
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — a hat
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. club — for dancing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. club — for golf
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tear — to rip
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wake — a trail
  21. club — a group
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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