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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. file — a document
  3. press — a publisher
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. file — a line of people
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. scale — in music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. hand — in cards
  14. sharp — clever
  15. hand — help
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bat — the animal
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. file — a tool

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