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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bat — the animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. last — to go on
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. staff — employees
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. snap — to click
  15. last — finally
  16. rule — government
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — a law
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pitch — completely
  22. last — final
  23. stand — to bear
  24. press — newspapers

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