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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. press — a publisher
  4. net — after costs
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. net — in sport
  16. court — of law
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. press — to push
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kick — in football
  24. cold — an illness

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