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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · sharp · press · fine · rush · last · season · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. last — finally
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. last — final
  12. press — to push
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitch — completely
  15. sharp — clever
  16. season — in sport
  17. press — newspapers
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fine — all right
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. season — of the year
  23. fine — high quality
  24. season — to add flavour

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