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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ball — a great time
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rule — government
  9. charge — electricity
  10. swing — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chest — a box
  18. charge — a price
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — to push
  21. charge — in control
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bat — the animal

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