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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mug — a face
  5. press — to push
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitch — completely
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a cup
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. root — the cause
  23. wound — an injury
  24. root — of a word

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