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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. press — to push
  3. rash — a series
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. dip — to sink
  9. press — a publisher
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rule — government
  16. press — newspapers
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rule — a law
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. game — a match
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — a sauce

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