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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: bowl · press · tear · race · patient · hide · mine · face

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. press — to push
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — humankind
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. race — a contest
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. face — to confront
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. race — the arms race

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