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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pit — in a race
  5. track — a song
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rule — a law
  8. track — to keep track
  9. game — a match
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rule — government
  13. band — a music group
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. press — newspapers
  17. track — a path
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mine — for digging
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. prune — to trim
  23. press — to push
  24. mine — an explosive

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