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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — army training
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bat — the animal
  11. swing — music
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. swing — to play on
  21. press — to push
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. swing — in golf
  24. drill — the tool

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