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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spring — a coil
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. spring — the season
  6. track — a song
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. press — to push
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pop — soda
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pop — music
  18. spring — of water
  19. bound — certain
  20. press — newspapers
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. court — of law
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — a publisher

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