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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. tear — to rip
  4. press — to push
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. last — finally
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. stem — to come from
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. roll — a list
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. press — newspapers
  23. roll — on a roll
  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