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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. press — to push
  2. swing — to play on
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. press — newspapers
  6. swing — music
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wound — an injury
  9. current — happening now
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. press — a publisher
  15. current — electric
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — a division
  18. court — of a king
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. charge — a price
  23. swing — in golf
  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