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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bass — low music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. court — of law
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bass — the fish
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — for digging
  16. snap — to click
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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