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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. can — a tin
  3. charge — in control
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of law
  7. track — a path
  8. track — a song
  9. charge — a price
  10. court — for sport
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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