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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. key — for a lock
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. saw — the tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. saw — the tool
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tube — a container
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. band — a music group
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. key — in music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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