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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. press — newspapers
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kick — in football
  6. fall — the season
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. row — a line
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — the amount
  18. row — to paddle
  19. press — to push
  20. content — happy
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fall — to drop

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