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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. press — newspapers
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bank — for money
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bank — for money
  10. bulb — for light
  11. press — to push
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. bulb — for light
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bank — of a river
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. court — of a king
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rash — hasty
  24. tear — to rip

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