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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: bat · racket · march · drill · rule · press · last · rest

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rule — a law
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. march — the month
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. march — music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. last — to go on
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rule — government
  24. racket — for tennis

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