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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mine — for digging
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — to push
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. drill — army training
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. court — of law
  18. face — part of the head
  19. drill — a practice
  20. court — for sport
  21. wax — to grow
  22. press — newspapers
  23. drill — the tool
  24. leaves — of a tree

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