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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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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a line of people
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — size or range
  5. object — an aim
  6. march — the month
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. object — a thing
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. press — a publisher
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a tool
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — an amount
  22. scale — in music
  23. cap — a hat
  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