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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 120 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: lash · march · cold · track · content · tear · press · pop

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. tear — to rip
  3. track — a song
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — music
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. content — happy
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. content — the amount
  14. track — to keep track
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — to push
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pop — soda
  19. march — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. track — a path
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. press — a publisher
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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