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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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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: rule · mug · spring · pit · shower · press · stick · straw

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rule — a law
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. shower — rain
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mug — a face
  14. spring — of water
  15. rule — government
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pit — a hole
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — to wash
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. press — newspapers

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