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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. foot — a measure
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. court — of a king
  9. press — newspapers
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — help
  16. court — of law
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. hand — in cards
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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