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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. press — a publisher
  6. land — a country
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fine — high quality
  9. chest — a box
  10. land — to come down
  11. rock — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rock — a stone
  14. press — to push
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — ground
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pound — a weight
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fine — all right
  24. file — a line of people

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