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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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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: object · wound · tear · kick · charge · band · bear · press

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. charge — in control
  3. kick — in football
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a ring
  6. press — newspapers
  7. object — to protest
  8. bear — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bear — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. object — a thing
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. press — to push
  18. charge — a price
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. band — a music group
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. tear — to rip

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