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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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Word bank
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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. toast — bread
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. land — to come down
  8. press — a publisher
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rule — a law
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. land — a country
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rule — government
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chest — a box
  23. land — ground
  24. chest — of your body

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