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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. clip — a video
  5. root — of a word
  6. press — newspapers
  7. root — the cause
  8. press — a publisher
  9. clip — to cut
  10. press — to push
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. root — of a plant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — to bend
  21. file — a document
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. file — a line of people

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