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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. press — newspapers
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lean — thin
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. plane — a tool
  11. press — to push
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bat — the animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fork — in a road
  17. key — in music
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. key — the most important part
  24. plane — an aircraft

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