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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — to push
  7. face — to confront
  8. tear — to rip
  9. press — a publisher
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. face — part of the head
  12. press — newspapers
  13. file — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. snap — to click
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. date — the fruit
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. face — to point toward

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