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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: kick · content · snap · rule · mate · press

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rule — a law
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. press — to push
  9. kick — in football
  10. press — a publisher
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mate — to breed
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out

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