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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. press — to push
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pit — in a race
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pit — a hole
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fine — all right
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. land — to come down
  20. tear — from crying
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ball — a dance
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ball — a round shape

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