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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. press — a publisher
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cold — an illness
  10. file — a tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — the season
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — of water
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. spring — a coil

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