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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rock — a stone
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rock — music
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — to rip
  19. net — for catching
  20. rule — government
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. press — newspapers
  23. file — a line of people
  24. net — in sport

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