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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. snap — to click
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. can — to be able to
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. can — a tin
  8. press — to push
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rest — what's left
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pass — a permit
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — a break
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. can — a tin
  23. rest — what's left
  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