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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — child
  7. rash — a series
  8. court — of law
  9. press — to push
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — newspapers
  13. court — of a king
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pound — a weight
  18. court — for sport

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