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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. press — a publisher
  4. court — of a king
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. press — to push
  7. press — newspapers
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — for sport
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. march — music
  13. row — to paddle
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. ball — a dance
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. ball — a great time
  24. row — a line

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