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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. press — a publisher
  5. swing — music
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. swing — in golf
  11. ball — a great time
  12. degree — an amount
  13. press — to push
  14. current — electric
  15. current — of water
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — temperature
  20. press — newspapers
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. straw — dry grass

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