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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cue — a hint
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cue — a signal
  10. snap — to click
  11. foot — a measure
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. file — a document
  14. game — a match
  15. hand — help
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cue — for pool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. file — a line of people

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