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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — for a lock
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. net — for catching
  5. fine — high quality
  6. key — in music
  7. fine — all right
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ground — a position
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. key — the most important part
  14. tear — from crying
  15. press — to push
  16. net — after costs
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — crushed
  19. shower — rain
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ground — the earth
  24. press — a publisher

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