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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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Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. key — in music
  4. file — a tool
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. key — the most important part
  11. press — a publisher
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mine — for digging
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. net — for catching
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. net — after costs
  19. press — to push
  20. net — in sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. branch — a division
  23. sharp — clever
  24. branch — of a tree

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