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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rash — hasty
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. saw — the tool
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a line of people
  16. press — a publisher
  17. file — a tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. press — to push
  23. chip — for betting
  24. press — newspapers

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