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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rule — a law
  6. pitch — completely
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. press — to push
  9. race — a contest
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. season — of the year
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. staff — a stick
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tear — from crying
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — humankind
  20. press — newspapers
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. staff — employees

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