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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: date · stick · cap · press · tear · chest · row · cue

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cue — a signal
  7. row — a line
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cue — a hint
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — from crying
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. press — a publisher
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. row — to paddle

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