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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: mate · file · key · spring · squash · face · press · rash

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. press — a publisher
  3. squash — to crush
  4. face — to point toward
  5. file — a tool
  6. key — the most important part
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spring — of water
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. squash — the sport
  11. press — newspapers
  12. key — in music
  13. file — a document
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. rash — a series
  19. key — for a lock
  20. rash — hasty
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  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