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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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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: spring · date · net · suit · straw · press · bat · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — a publisher
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — after costs
  5. suit — to fit
  6. press — newspapers
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — of water
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. suit — clothes
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. net — for catching
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. suit — in cards
  22. press — to push
  23. net — in sport
  24. date — the fruit

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