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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — newspapers
  5. present — the time now
  6. spring — a coil
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. present — a gift
  12. tear — from crying
  13. key — for a lock
  14. press — to push
  15. key — the most important part
  16. lean — thin
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. present — there
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — the season
  24. lean — to rest against

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