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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. press — to push
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rule — government
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — a law
  12. press — a publisher
  13. firm — steady
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. chest — a box
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. firm — a company
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. press — newspapers
  24. firm — decided

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