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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: cold · bore · press · club · rule · fall

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — to drop
  4. press — to push
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bore — to drill
  8. club — a group
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. rule — a law
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bore — gave birth

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