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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — low music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — to push
  7. spell — letters
  8. mark — a trace
  9. file — a tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. press — newspapers
  12. file — a document
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. press — a publisher
  15. spell — magic
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mark — a grade
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bass — the fish
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — for sport

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