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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — to push
  8. key — in music
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rash — a series
  15. mine — for digging
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rule — a law
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bark — to shout
  24. key — the most important part

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