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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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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: kid · press · field · stand · plane · object · rule · snap

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. object — to protest
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. plane — a tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to click
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. object — a thing
  21. press — to push
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. kid — child
  24. object — an aim

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