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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. press — a publisher
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. court — for sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — of a king
  15. band — a ring
  16. land — to come down
  17. craft — boats
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. court — of law
  24. jam — in traffic

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