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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mug — to rob
  3. rule — government
  4. mug — a face
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — a cup
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. field — for sport
  11. press — to push
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — obliged
  14. press — newspapers
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. field — a subject
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bound — certain
  24. rule — a law

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