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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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — a weight
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rash — a series
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kid — to tease
  10. court — of a king
  11. craft — boats
  12. press — to push
  13. net — in sport
  14. craft — a skill
  15. net — after costs
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rash — hasty
  19. court — of law
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. court — for sport
  24. net — for catching

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