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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. press — newspapers
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. rush — hurry
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. file — a line of people
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. deal — to handle
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a document
  20. press — to push
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. press — a publisher

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