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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: fall · wind · bowl · sharp · kid · press · tear · present

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tear — to rip
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. press — newspapers
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. press — to push
  12. present — there
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. press — a publisher
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — the season
  21. sharp — clever
  22. kid — child
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. fall — to drop

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