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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cue — a signal
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. court — of a king
  7. press — to push
  8. court — of law
  9. bat — the animal
  10. charge — in control
  11. cue — a hint
  12. charge — a price
  13. shower — rain
  14. press — newspapers
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bat — for baseball
  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