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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. field — for sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. field — farmland
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. file — a tool
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. snap — to click
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rash — a series
  19. pound — a weight
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. field — a subject
  22. wake — a trail
  23. press — a publisher
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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