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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 · spell · chest · bass · saw · roll · court · press

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. chest — a box
  4. roll — a cake
  5. spell — magic
  6. roll — a list
  7. court — of law
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chest — of your body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. press — to push
  15. rule — government
  16. bass — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bass — low music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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