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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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. snap — to click
  4. swing — music
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — humankind
  9. can — a tin
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. can — to be able to
  12. press — to push
  13. field — farmland
  14. can — a tin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — a subject
  17. race — the arms race
  18. swing — to play on
  19. race — a contest
  20. press — a publisher
  21. swing — in golf
  22. press — newspapers
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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