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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. file — a document
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. row — to paddle
  7. file — a line of people
  8. press — to push
  9. face — part of the head
  10. press — a publisher
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. last — to go on
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cell — in biology
  23. degree — an amount
  24. last — final

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