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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 120 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a tool
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mate — a friend
  5. staff — employees
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — to breed
  20. staff — a stick
  21. mate — a partner
  22. march — the month
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. press — to push

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