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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. press — to push
  3. suit — clothes
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. kid — to tease
  7. file — a document
  8. suit — to fit
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. file — a tool
  11. key — the most important part
  12. net — for catching
  13. cell — in biology
  14. press — newspapers
  15. net — after costs
  16. key — in music
  17. suit — in cards
  18. net — in sport
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fork — in a road
  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