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

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. press — newspapers
  6. root — of a word
  7. press — to push
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. kick — in football
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. wound — an injury
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mine — an explosive

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