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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chip — to eat
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — of law
  13. press — to push
  14. saw — the tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. court — of a king
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chip — for betting
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pop — music
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. chip — in a computer

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