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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. press — to push
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pit — a hole
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chest — a box
  11. rule — a law
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rule — government
  14. kick — in football
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — a permit
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pit — in a race

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