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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — in biology
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — of law
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. press — to push
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rest — a break
  18. bark — to shout
  19. press — a publisher
  20. court — for sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rest — what's left
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — the earth

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