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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: fall · race · spring · pitcher · tear · bat · cap · press

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tear — to rip
  6. press — to push
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — the season
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cap — of ice
  17. press — a publisher
  18. cap — a hat
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. race — a contest
  24. fall — to drop

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