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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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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: cold · racket · spell · tear · lean · press

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — a short time
  5. press — a publisher
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. tear — from crying
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — an illness
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. racket — for tennis

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