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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. court — for sport
  4. date — the fruit
  5. court — of a king
  6. last — final
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pound — a weight
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — of law
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — a country
  13. last — to go on
  14. land — ground
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. land — to come down
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. press — newspapers
  20. last — finally
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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