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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 · rock · tear · craft · jam · cold

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rock — music
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. tear — from crying
  10. press — newspapers
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. rock — a stone
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cold — an illness

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