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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. scale — in music
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a music group
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cell — a phone
  10. race — the arms race
  11. scale — size or range
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cell — in biology
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. race — humankind
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bulb — for light
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. press — newspapers
  24. dip — to dunk

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