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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to click
  3. file — a document
  4. press — to push
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wake — a trail
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — a subject
  10. tear — to rip
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. field — farmland
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. file — a tool
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. press — newspapers
  24. field — for sport

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