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

Word bank: swing · rest · press · tear · pit · mine

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rest — a break
  3. swing — music
  4. pit — in a race
  5. press — to push
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rest — what's left
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pit — a hole
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. mine — for digging
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mine — an explosive

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