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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rule — a law
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — ground
  13. press — newspapers
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — government
  18. press — a publisher
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. land — a country
  23. press — to push
  24. chest — a box

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