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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rush — hurry
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. swing — music
  6. race — humankind
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. court — for sport
  12. race — a contest
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. net — for catching
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — of law
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. swing — in golf

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