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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. file — a document
  12. board — a committee
  13. cap — a hat
  14. degree — an amount
  15. press — newspapers
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. board — to get on
  19. cap — a lid
  20. game — a match
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — a flat piece

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