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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rock — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. press — to push
  10. cap — a lid
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. craft — a skill
  15. rock — a stone
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. file — a tool
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. cap — of ice
  21. press — newspapers
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. tear — from crying

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