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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · game · press · racket · rule · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — a hole
  9. rule — government
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. rule — a law
  15. game — a match
  16. press — a publisher
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis

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