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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. sharp — clever
  3. degree — from a university
  4. press — to push
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rule — government
  10. field — a subject
  11. rule — a law
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — farmland
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. press — newspapers
  17. field — for sport
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. squash — the sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — a publisher
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. degree — an amount
  24. squash — to crush

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