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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: press · club · snap · fork · safe · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. press — to push
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. club — for dancing
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. club — a group
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. club — for golf
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fork — in a road

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