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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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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitch — completely
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. press — a publisher
  10. degree — from a university
  11. vault — a safe
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. field — farmland
  17. press — to push
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — from crying
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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