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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. track — a song
  6. wound — an injury
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cell — a phone
  10. charge — electricity
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. charge — a price
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. charge — in control
  19. court — of law
  20. cell — in biology
  21. track — a path
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — hurry
  24. season — to add flavour

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