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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: file · chair · content · bark · stick · cell · press · spring

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spring — of water
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — the amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — a coil
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. press — a publisher
  21. spring — the season
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cell — a phone
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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