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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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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: coach · rush · kick · drill · sharp · chest · press · rule

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kick — in football
  7. drill — army training
  8. rule — a law
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chest — a box
  13. press — newspapers
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. press — to push
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. sharp — clever
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rule — government
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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