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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. press — a publisher
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. press — to push
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — an amount
  9. field — a subject
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tube — a container
  12. charge — a price
  13. field — farmland
  14. degree — from a university
  15. charge — in control
  16. saw — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. charge — electricity
  19. court — for sport
  20. press — newspapers
  21. spell — magic
  22. field — for sport
  23. spell — a short time
  24. degree — temperature

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