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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cold — an illness
  6. present — a gift
  7. press — to push
  8. bank — of a river
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. game — wild animals
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. press — a publisher
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. press — newspapers
  22. present — the time now
  23. hand — help
  24. tear — to rip

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