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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. file — a tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. season — of the year
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. press — a publisher
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a document
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. season — in sport
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. plane — a tool
  19. root — the cause
  20. cell — in biology
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. plane — in geometry

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