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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 124 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  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. pound — a weight
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. key — in music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. key — the most important part
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. press — to push
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. press — a publisher
  16. fork — in a road
  17. file — a document
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. key — for a lock
  22. press — newspapers
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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