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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: wind · hide · press · foot · toast · snap · file · march

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. file — a tool
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. press — to push
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — music
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — the month
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. press — a publisher
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. toast — bread
  23. press — newspapers
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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