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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. press — newspapers
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. file — a tool
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. press — a publisher
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — help
  14. file — a document
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tube — the underground
  22. field — for sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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