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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: date · kid · march · key · press · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — child
  6. key — the most important part
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. press — newspapers
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. key — in music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. march — the month
  13. date — the fruit
  14. kid — to tease
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. key — for a lock

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