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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 · charge · wind · snap · tear · bay

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — to rip
  6. press — to push
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. charge — in control
  9. snap — to click
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — a price
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wind — moving air
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers

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