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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. press — to push
  4. pound — a weight
  5. scale — size or range
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. scale — in music
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rule — a law
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mark — a grade
  19. content — happy
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rule — government
  24. mark — a trace

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