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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tear — to rip
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wound — an injury
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. mine — for digging
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — in cards

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