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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 116 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: fork · rule · press · squash · cell · bound · cue · cold

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. press — a publisher
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bound — certain
  9. press — newspapers
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bound — obliged
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — to push
  15. rule — government
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rule — a law
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. bound — tied together
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — an illness

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