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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. court — of a king
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. court — of law
  9. file — a line of people
  10. hand — help
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. press — a publisher
  14. press — to push
  15. file — a document
  16. chest — a box
  17. hand — in cards
  18. swing — music
  19. court — for sport
  20. swing — in golf
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a tool
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stand — on your feet

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