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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rule — a law
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rule — government
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — to eat
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. chip — for betting
  18. press — to push
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bark — to shout
  24. press — newspapers

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