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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 116 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: wave · press · cell · face · mate · file · chip · tube

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mate — a friend
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. press — a publisher
  14. tube — a container
  15. face — part of the head
  16. file — a document
  17. cell — a phone
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chip — to eat

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