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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: rule · patient · cap · chest · press · bark

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. press — to push
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cap — a lid
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — a law
  14. press — newspapers
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chest — a box

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