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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 120 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: snap · press · face · mate · cell · tear · file · race

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. file — a tool
  4. press — newspapers
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. mate — to breed
  8. face — to confront
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mate — a friend
  11. snap — to click
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — humankind
  14. press — to push
  15. file — a document
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. face — to point toward
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mate — a partner
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cell — a phone

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