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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. court — of law
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. press — newspapers
  7. court — of a king
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. press — to push
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fork — in a road
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. court — for sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. kid — child

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