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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: rush · bat · rule · patient · bound · stem · press · hand

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bound — obliged
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rush — hurry
  8. press — to push
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. press — newspapers
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — help
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rule — a law
  18. bound — certain
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rule — government
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bound — tied together

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