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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. press — to push
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — an illness
  10. court — of a king
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. press — a publisher
  15. tube — the underground
  16. degree — from a university
  17. court — for sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — a container
  24. cold — the Cold War

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