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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. press — to push
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. rule — government
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. squash — to crush
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bat — the animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. row — a line
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. row — to paddle
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. chair — a professorship

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