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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. charge — electricity
  3. press — to push
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. charge — a price
  6. deal — to handle
  7. charge — in control
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ground — crushed
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ground — the earth
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fall — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. tear — from crying

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