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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. file — a line of people
  3. spell — magic
  4. shower — to wash
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. press — to push
  9. file — a tool
  10. spell — letters
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. press — newspapers
  17. spell — a short time
  18. press — a publisher
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. shower — rain
  24. wave — of the sea

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