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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. squash — to crush
  3. press — a publisher
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. track — a song
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cell — in biology
  11. shower — to wash
  12. file — a document
  13. degree — from a university
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a path
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stand — to bear
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. press — to push
  24. cell — a phone

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