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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. press — to push
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — high quality
  5. clip — a video
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stock — shares
  9. file — a tool
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. file — a document
  12. fine — all right
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. press — a publisher
  15. board — a committee
  16. clip — to cut
  17. board — to get on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stock — goods
  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