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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. current — happening now
  6. press — to push
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. key — in music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — for a lock
  13. current — electric
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — the most important part
  18. face — to point toward
  19. current — of water
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. rock — a stone

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