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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: press · tear · deal · craft · snap · chest

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. deal — to handle
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. craft — a skill
  8. snap — to click
  9. chest — a box
  10. press — newspapers
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — to push
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. craft — boats
  17. chest — of your body
  18. craft — a handicraft

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