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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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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: bark · press · race · object · kick · stand · rule · rest

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bark — to shout
  3. object — an aim
  4. rule — government
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rest — what's left
  7. object — to protest
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. race — humankind
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. object — a thing
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. race — the arms race
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rule — a law
  21. press — newspapers
  22. race — a contest
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rest — a break

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