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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tear — to rip
  3. key — the most important part
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. press — a publisher
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pound — a weight
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — from crying
  12. staff — employees
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. scale — in music
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. staff — employees
  19. key — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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