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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: swing · rule · season · safe · last · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. swing — music
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. last — finally
  8. rule — a law
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. season — in sport
  12. press — newspapers
  13. last — to go on
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rule — government
  16. press — a publisher
  17. last — final
  18. season — of the year

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