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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: coach · shower · press · pit · race · rule · net · bat

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. net — for catching
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. press — newspapers
  7. shower — rain
  8. press — to push
  9. net — after costs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. race — humankind
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rule — a law
  15. net — in sport
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — government
  23. shower — to wash
  24. race — a contest

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