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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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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: press · mate · coach · game · march · last · rule · shower

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. last — to go on
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — a publisher
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mate — a friend
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — newspapers
  16. march — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mate — to breed
  19. rule — a law
  20. last — final
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — government
  23. press — to push
  24. game — a match

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