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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 116 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. press — to push
  3. shower — rain
  4. file — a document
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. press — newspapers
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. file — a tool
  22. tube — a container
  23. straw — dry grass
  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