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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: fork · cold · file · pit · charge · press

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. file — a tool
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pit — in a race
  10. press — newspapers
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. file — a document
  15. cold — an illness
  16. charge — in control
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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