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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. shower — rain
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. field — farmland
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. press — to push
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. file — a document
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. field — for sport
  16. shower — to wash
  17. file — a tool
  18. press — newspapers
  19. field — a subject
  20. stem — to come from
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. snap — to click
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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