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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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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: wound · calf · rule · press · file · face · fan · fork

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. file — a document
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rule — a law
  13. file — a line of people
  14. face — to point toward
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. face — part of the head
  21. file — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rule — government
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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