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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rule — government
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. mug — a cup
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cold — an illness
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. press — a publisher
  10. can — a tin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — a match
  15. rule — a law
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — to push
  19. game — wild animals
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mug — a face
  23. can — to be able to
  24. rule — to rule out

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