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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: wake · charge · rule · press · wind · chair

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. charge — electricity
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. charge — in control
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. charge — a price
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rule — a law
  15. chair — a leader
  16. press — to push
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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