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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.

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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. file — a document
  3. press — to push
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. face — to confront
  6. cold — not warm
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mug — a face
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a tool
  23. mug — to rob
  24. swing — music

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