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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: file · wind · cell · press · ball · pop

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pop — soda
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cell — a phone
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a dance
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. press — to push
  18. file — a document

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