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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. file — a tool
  3. can — to be able to
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. press — to push
  6. can — a tin
  7. press — a publisher
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. file — a document
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kid — child
  20. swing — in golf
  21. net — after costs
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. swing — to play on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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