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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. net — for catching
  3. press — a publisher
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — in sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. court — for sport
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — happy
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. court — of a king
  15. ball — a great time
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. press — newspapers
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — to push
  22. net — after costs
  23. court — of law
  24. content — the amount

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