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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — a country
  8. file — a document
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fine — high quality
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a match
  15. land — ground
  16. drill — a practice
  17. file — a tool
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. press — a publisher
  24. land — to come down

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