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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. press — to push
  7. last — final
  8. drill — army training
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. last — to go on
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pound — a weight
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. last — finally
  23. tear — from crying
  24. degree — temperature

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