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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. press — to push
  4. court — of a king
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. track — a song
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. drill — a practice
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — of law
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pop — to visit
  14. drill — the tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pop — soda
  19. press — newspapers
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. drill — army training
  22. pop — music
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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