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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. firm — steady
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tear — to rip
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. band — a ring
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — to push
  12. firm — decided
  13. mate — a partner
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. firm — a company
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wound — an injury
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. straw — dry grass

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