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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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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: coach · press · pound · tear · snap · mug

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to click
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mug — a face
  5. tear — to rip
  6. press — to push
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mug — to rob

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