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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. shower — rain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. press — to push
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. shower — to wash
  13. row — to paddle
  14. press — newspapers
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pass — a permit
  17. row — a line
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tear — to rip
  22. clip — a video
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. tear — from crying

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