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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: rule · clip · game · cap · wound · press · rash · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rule — government
  9. press — to push
  10. clip — a video
  11. cap — a hat
  12. game — a match
  13. rule — a law
  14. rash — a series
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. clip — to cut
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. game — wild animals
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cap — a lid
  24. fall — to drop

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