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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — to push
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. pop — music
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rule — a law
  10. press — a publisher
  11. lean — to bend
  12. game — a match
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. lean — thin
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — soda
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spring — the season
  23. pop — to visit
  24. spring — a coil

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