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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: field · mouse · shower · file · chest · chip · press · spring

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — for sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. field — farmland
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. press — to push
  18. shower — rain
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chip — for betting
  21. spring — the season
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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