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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. press — to push
  23. row — a line
  24. fork — in a road

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