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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: chest · cue · rest · rule · capital · press

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rule — government
  4. cue — for pool
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. cue — a hint
  7. press — a publisher
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rule — a law
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — to push
  15. cue — a signal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break

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