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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: press · tear · ruler · drill · deal · last · row · lash

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — to go on
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. tear — to rip
  5. last — final
  6. drill — a practice
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. press — to push
  10. row — a line
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. press — a publisher
  16. last — finally
  17. row — to paddle
  18. drill — the tool
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. deal — to handle
  23. press — newspapers
  24. drill — army training

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