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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 · fine · snap · present · cold · court · ruler · land

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cold — an illness
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. land — ground
  8. court — of a king
  9. present — a gift
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. fine — all right
  15. cold — not warm
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. present — the time now
  19. land — to come down
  20. present — there
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. land — a country
  23. fine — high quality
  24. snap — to click

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