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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: ground · bat · mate · rule · key · press · wind · saw

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rule — a law
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mate — a partner
  12. press — newspapers
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mate — to breed
  15. ground — a position
  16. press — a publisher
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mate — a friend
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rule — government
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — crushed

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