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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. file — a tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bat — the animal
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. file — a document
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. present — there
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. band — a ring
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. degree — from a university

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