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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: root · press · court · pitcher · wind · fall · nail · rule

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. root — the cause
  3. press — a publisher
  4. rule — a law
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. court — of a king
  15. root — of a plant
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. root — of a word
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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