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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 · rule · bat · march · bound · club

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rule — government
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rule — a law
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. march — music
  9. bound — obliged
  10. press — a publisher
  11. club — for golf
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain

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