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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. row — to paddle
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. season — in sport
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — happy
  14. court — of law
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — clever
  21. season — of the year
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. sharp — with an edge

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