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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 120 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: bulb · press · tear · straw · board · cap · pit · tube

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — a lid
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pit — in a race
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — a publisher
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tube — a container
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cap — a hat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bulb — for light
  20. press — newspapers
  21. board — a committee
  22. tube — the underground
  23. press — to push
  24. tube — in a tire

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