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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a tool
  5. press — a publisher
  6. lean — to bend
  7. band — a music group
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. lean — thin
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. press — to push
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. press — newspapers
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a ring
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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