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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 120 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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — ground
  4. tear — to rip
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. press — a publisher
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. land — a country
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chip — for betting
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tear — from crying
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chip — to eat
  24. foot — a measure

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