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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. press — a publisher
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — a line
  13. last — finally
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. last — final
  16. mark — a grade
  17. hand — in cards
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. last — to go on
  23. tear — from crying
  24. racket — for tennis

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