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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: present · press · chest · spell · kick · tear · rule · snap

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. spell — magic
  3. present — there
  4. tear — from crying
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — letters
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. snap — to click
  12. present — the time now
  13. spell — a short time
  14. press — to push
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. present — a gift
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. press — a publisher
  23. rule — government
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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