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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — newspapers
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — not warm
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tear — to rip
  21. deal — to handle
  22. press — to push
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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