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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · ball · cold · hide · lash · rule · stock · press

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. march — the month
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rule — government
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. march — the month
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rule — a law
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. march — music
  22. stock — shares
  23. press — to push
  24. hide — to keep secret

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