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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. press — a publisher
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — a position
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. squash — to crush
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. squash — the sport
  11. press — to push
  12. drill — army training
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bound — tied together
  15. drill — a practice
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — the earth
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. perch — the fish

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