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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rule — a law
  5. roll — a cake
  6. current — electric
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — happy
  10. court — of a king
  11. content — the amount
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. current — happening now
  14. court — of law
  15. bear — the animal
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. rule — government
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. press — newspapers
  20. roll — a list
  21. current — of water
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. press — to push

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