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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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 tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — to cut
  6. file — a document
  7. press — to push
  8. shower — to wash
  9. clip — for paper
  10. shower — rain
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. staff — a stick
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. staff — employees
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. staff — employees
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. press — newspapers
  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