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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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Word bank
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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: wind · can · mate · swing · tear · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. can — to be able to
  3. swing — to play on
  4. can — a tin
  5. mate — a friend
  6. swing — music
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wind — moving air
  10. swing — in golf
  11. can — a tin
  12. press — a publisher
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wind — to turn a key

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