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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. land — a country
  4. press — to push
  5. pop — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stand — to bear
  9. court — for sport
  10. press — a publisher
  11. land — ground
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. land — to come down
  14. kid — child
  15. file — a tool
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pop — to visit
  24. file — a document

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