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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. content — happy
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. scale — in music
  12. court — of law
  13. content — the amount
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mug — a face
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. press — newspapers

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