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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. file — a tool
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a line of people
  14. shower — rain
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — newspapers
  18. foot — a measure
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. shower — to wash

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