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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rule — a law
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. press — to push
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rule — government
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bat — the animal
  14. press — newspapers
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. press — a publisher

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