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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: cabinet · safe · cold · press · key · file · last · tear

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. file — a document
  5. last — final
  6. key — for a lock
  7. last — to go on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. key — the most important part
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. key — in music
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — finally
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tear — to rip
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cold — the Cold War

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