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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. object — to protest
  3. press — a publisher
  4. present — a gift
  5. squash — to crush
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cue — a hint
  10. press — to push
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. object — a thing
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. present — there
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. object — an aim
  20. present — the time now
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. mark — a grade
  24. squash — the sport

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