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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. staff — employees
  3. pit — a hole
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. staff — a stick
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. file — a tool
  10. kick — in football
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. press — newspapers
  17. file — a document
  18. pit — in a race
  19. press — a publisher
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. staff — employees
  23. prune — to trim
  24. file — a line of people

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