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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bear — the animal
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. tear — from crying
  9. drill — the tool
  10. press — newspapers
  11. drill — army training
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cold — an illness
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. press — to push

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