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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · press · file · fork · pit · tear

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rock — music
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pit — a hole

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