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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. face — to confront
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. degree — from a university
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. press — to push
  15. fall — the season
  16. press — a publisher
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to click

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