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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: fine · press · saw · pit · wave · cold · season · tear

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pit — a hole
  5. press — to push
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. season — in sport
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tear — from crying
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — a publisher
  17. tear — from crying
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — of the year
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fine — all right
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. saw — the tool

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