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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a document
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. net — after costs
  9. scale — size or range
  10. court — of law
  11. net — for catching
  12. press — a publisher
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. file — a line of people
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. file — a tool
  21. press — newspapers
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — in sport
  24. scale — in music

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