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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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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rule — a law
  6. mate — to breed
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. press — newspapers
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mate — a friend
  14. press — to push
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mate — a partner

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