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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — of a king
  3. spring — the season
  4. net — after costs
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rock — a stone
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — for catching
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. press — to push
  13. net — in sport
  14. court — of law
  15. rock — music
  16. spring — of water
  17. court — for sport
  18. spring — a coil

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