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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. press — a publisher
  3. snap — to click
  4. rash — hasty
  5. court — of a king
  6. rash — a series
  7. swing — to play on
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. swing — in golf
  11. press — to push
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — the underground
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. tube — a container
  21. swing — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. press — newspapers
  24. court — for sport

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