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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. court — of a king
  5. press — newspapers
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — a phone
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — in biology
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. press — to push
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. kick — in football
  23. kid — child
  24. fan — a supporter

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