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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: file · lean · press · bore · wind · pound

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — to tire
  6. press — to push
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bore — to drill
  14. file — a tool
  15. press — newspapers
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. file — a line of people

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