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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: pop · club · press · craft · tear · swing

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — from crying
  3. press — to push
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pop — music
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. tear — to rip
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pop — soda
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pop — to visit
  14. club — for golf
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — music
  18. club — a group

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