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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. file — a line of people
  3. press — a publisher
  4. race — a contest
  5. press — to push
  6. fork — in a road
  7. press — newspapers
  8. content — the amount
  9. file — a tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a music group
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. file — a document
  19. hand — help
  20. wax — to grow
  21. race — humankind
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. wax — in the ear

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