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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pop — to visit
  3. press — to push
  4. pop — soda
  5. press — a publisher
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pop — music
  9. march — the month
  10. rule — a law
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. degree — from a university
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. rule — government
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a tool
  24. degree — an amount

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