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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: drill · fall · press · tear · deal · arm · degree · cabinet

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. press — a publisher
  7. tear — to rip
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fall — the season
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — to drop
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. fall — to drop
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. deal — to handle
  24. tear — from crying

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