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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. land — ground
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rash — a series
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. press — to push
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — letters
  13. press — newspapers
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spell — a short time
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. spell — magic
  21. rash — hasty
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a document

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