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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — in sport
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — the earth
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mark — a grade
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tear — to rip
  15. season — of the year
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — newspapers
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ruler — a monarch

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