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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. row — a line
  3. last — finally
  4. rule — a law
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — final
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — to paddle
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. pop — music
  14. cue — a hint
  15. press — newspapers
  16. last — to go on
  17. cue — for pool
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. cue — a signal
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — after costs
  24. rule — government

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