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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: cold · press · date · march · bowl · ball · toast · rule

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. press — a publisher
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. rule — government
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. press — newspapers
  9. ball — a dance
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — a law
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — not warm
  24. press — to push

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