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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. ground — crushed
  6. file — a tool
  7. key — in music
  8. ground — a position
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a line of people
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cell — a phone
  18. file — a document

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