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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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Word bank
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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — to tease
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wake — a trail
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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