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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cap — a hat
  3. face — to point toward
  4. press — to push
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. file — a document
  7. face — to confront
  8. file — a tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. court — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cap — a lid
  18. court — of a king
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cap — of ice
  22. court — of law
  23. march — music
  24. squash — to crush

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