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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: fine · last · racket · press · rule · content · season · tear

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. season — of the year
  4. fine — all right
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. content — happy
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rule — government
  10. last — final
  11. fine — high quality
  12. content — the amount
  13. press — a publisher
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. season — in sport
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. press — newspapers
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. press — to push

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