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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. pit — in a race
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — a box
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pit — a hole
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — a law
  18. press — to push
  19. spring — of water
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — the season
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. content — videos and posts

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