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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 116 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: last · tube · bear · press · deal · wound · tear · fine

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fine — high quality
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fine — all right
  16. bear — the animal
  17. press — to push
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. press — newspapers
  24. last — finally

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