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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a tool
  6. track — a path
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. spring — of water
  13. tear — from crying
  14. press — newspapers
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. file — a line of people
  20. tear — to rip
  21. court — of a king
  22. track — a song
  23. spring — a coil
  24. press — a publisher

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