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

Word bank: kick · spring · toast · file · press · cell

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. toast — bread
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. press — a publisher
  8. file — a line of people
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. press — newspapers
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. press — to push

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