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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: press · rule · land · safe · bat · pound · mate · foot

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rule — a law
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. mate — a friend
  6. press — to push
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — to breed
  11. rule — government
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. land — a country
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pound — a weight
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. land — to come down

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