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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. net — for catching
  3. press — to push
  4. row — a line
  5. rule — government
  6. face — to confront
  7. rule — a law
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. press — newspapers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. perch — the fish
  16. net — after costs
  17. face — part of the head
  18. press — a publisher
  19. row — to paddle
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — in sport
  23. face — to point toward
  24. row — a quarrel

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