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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 120 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: race · bound · rest · row · press · net · rule · hand

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. press — to push
  3. row — to paddle
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rest — a break
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. press — a publisher
  18. rule — government
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — for catching
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — a law
  23. race — a contest
  24. row — a line

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