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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. object — an aim
  3. rock — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. net — after costs
  6. bass — the fish
  7. object — to protest
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. court — of a king
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. net — for catching
  12. rock — a stone
  13. net — in sport
  14. press — to push
  15. bass — low music
  16. press — newspapers
  17. object — a thing
  18. court — of law

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