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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. field — farmland
  12. press — to push
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. lean — to bend
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lean — thin
  24. press — newspapers

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