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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. file — a tool
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. file — a document
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a line of people
  13. sharp — clever
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitch — completely
  16. press — a publisher
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. press — to push
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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