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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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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: press · rock · tear · craft · jam · cold · pitch · hand

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rock — a stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. craft — boats
  13. press — to push
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. press — newspapers
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rock — music
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. hand — help
  21. pitch — completely
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — in cards

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