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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. court — for sport
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. court — of a king
  5. key — the most important part
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. current — happening now
  9. key — for a lock
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. current — electric
  14. pitch — completely
  15. court — of law
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. key — in music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. current — of water

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