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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. press — a publisher
  5. file — a tool
  6. current — electric
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. lean — thin
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. file — a line of people
  12. current — of water
  13. present — a gift
  14. file — a document
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. drill — army training
  17. press — to push
  18. present — the time now
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lean — to bend
  22. press — newspapers
  23. current — happening now
  24. bat — in an idiom

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