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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: wind · chest · rule · club · plane · press

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chest — a box
  7. club — a group
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. press — newspapers
  15. club — for golf
  16. plane — a tool
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — moving air

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