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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. press — a publisher
  4. can — to be able to
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. face — to confront
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. court — of a king
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. face — to point toward
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. court — of law
  16. can — a tin
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — part of the head
  19. court — for sport
  20. press — newspapers
  21. can — a tin
  22. dip — to sink
  23. press — to push
  24. wound — an injury

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