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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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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. hand — in cards
  6. press — a publisher
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. hand — help
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. file — a document

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