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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — a phone
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. degree — from a university
  8. press — a publisher
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mug — a cup
  15. degree — an amount
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mug — to rob
  19. cell — in biology
  20. press — to push
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — wild animals
  23. degree — temperature
  24. game — a match

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