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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pop — music
  3. season — in sport
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — of law
  6. season — of the year
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — a partner
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. press — a publisher
  11. plane — a tool
  12. mate — to breed
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. press — to push
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. court — of a king
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pop — soda

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