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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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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: pass · press · face · cold · tear · clip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pass — a permit
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — a video
  6. face — part of the head
  7. tear — from crying
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — to rip
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — to confront
  13. press — to push
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — not warm
  18. press — a publisher

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