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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 · pitch · pit · date · trunk · ground · ruler

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. press — a publisher
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pit — a hole
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. press — newspapers
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. date — the fruit
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ground — crushed
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pit — in a race

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