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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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Word bank
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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: press · cold · field · cue · racket · rule

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rule — government
  5. field — for sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. field — farmland
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. press — to push
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. press — a publisher

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