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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. court — for sport
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bass — the fish
  6. ball — a dance
  7. press — newspapers
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bass — low music
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rest — a break
  14. spring — the season
  15. capital — money
  16. court — of a king
  17. spring — a coil
  18. press — to push
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a great time
  22. spring — of water
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bass — the instrument

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