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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lean — to bend
  3. press — newspapers
  4. roll — a list
  5. mate — a friend
  6. court — for sport
  7. track — a path
  8. court — of law
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. track — to keep track
  11. lean — thin
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mate — to breed
  14. roll — a cake
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. press — to push
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. file — a document
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. track — a song
  24. court — of a king

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