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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. game — a match
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tube — the underground
  8. snap — to click
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. press — to push
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rule — a law
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tube — a container
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. file — a tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. press — newspapers
  24. file — a document

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