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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. press — a publisher
  3. court — for sport
  4. object — an aim
  5. staff — employees
  6. press — to push
  7. object — a thing
  8. pitch — completely
  9. object — to protest
  10. court — of law
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. staff — a stick
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — of a king
  23. shower — to wash
  24. staff — employees

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