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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. land — ground
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. kid — child
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mug — a face
  9. kid — to tease
  10. spell — letters
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. spell — magic
  15. land — a country
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mug — a cup
  19. press — to push
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. court — for sport
  22. rash — a series
  23. land — to come down
  24. spell — a short time

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