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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — of law
  6. bore — to drill
  7. can — a tin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — wild animals
  10. press — newspapers
  11. object — to protest
  12. can — to be able to
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. press — to push
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. can — a tin
  17. object — an aim
  18. press — a publisher
  19. dip — to sink
  20. object — a thing
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. court — of a king
  23. game — a match
  24. 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