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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — for digging
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. drill — the tool
  10. present — the time now
  11. press — to push
  12. drill — a practice
  13. present — a gift
  14. drill — army training
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. present — there
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. object — a thing
  24. mine — an explosive

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