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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ground — crushed
  5. court — of a king
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. court — for sport
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. court — of law
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ground — a position
  20. season — of the year
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. season — in sport
  23. press — to push
  24. bound — tied together

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