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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. press — a publisher
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. press — newspapers
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. press — to push
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. shower — rain
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rash — a series
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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