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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pop — to visit
  3. capital — a city
  4. mug — a cup
  5. court — of law
  6. mug — a face
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mug — to rob
  10. capital — money
  11. fall — to drop
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. press — a publisher
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. pop — soda
  20. fall — the season
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. pop — music
  24. kid — child

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