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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: stick · file · present · key · straw · press · cold · track

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. present — there
  3. track — to keep track
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. press — a publisher
  8. file — a tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. track — a song
  12. file — a line of people
  13. key — in music
  14. press — newspapers
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cold — not warm
  17. present — a gift
  18. key — the most important part
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. track — a path
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a document
  24. press — to push

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