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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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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: cap · press · rule · ground · pound · stock · club · face

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. face — part of the head
  4. ground — a position
  5. club — for golf
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rule — a law
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stock — goods
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ground — the earth
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stock — shares
  16. face — to confront
  17. rule — government
  18. press — a publisher
  19. club — for dancing
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cap — a lid
  23. press — newspapers
  24. club — a group

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