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

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. pit — in a race
  5. capital — money
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — a city
  8. press — newspapers
  9. present — a gift
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — to push
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. press — a publisher
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole

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