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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — a publisher
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. net — after costs
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tear — from crying
  10. net — for catching
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. press — to push
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. tear — to rip
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. net — in sport
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bear — to put up with

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