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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · row · press · lean · file · march

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — to bend
  3. file — a line of people
  4. row — a line
  5. march — music
  6. press — to push
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. file — a tool
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. file — a document
  11. lean — thin
  12. press — newspapers
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — to paddle
  16. tear — to rip
  17. press — a publisher
  18. march — the month

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