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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: ruler · spring · roll · press · content · prune · face · tear

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — to rip
  3. content — the amount
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. spring — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — newspapers
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — of water
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. roll — a list
  12. press — to push
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. roll — a cake
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. face — to confront
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — to trim
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — a coil
  24. roll — on a roll

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