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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. press — to push
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. press — newspapers
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bound — obliged
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lean — thin
  11. rule — a law
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. swing — in golf
  14. press — a publisher
  15. shower — to wash
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bound — certain
  18. clip — a video
  19. lean — to bend
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — tied together
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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