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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. rule — government
  4. race — humankind
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rule — a law
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. press — to push
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. race — a contest
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. drill — army training
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bat — the animal

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