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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — money
  3. press — a publisher
  4. court — of law
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bear — the animal
  7. court — of a king
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. pop — soda
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. press — to push
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mug — to rob
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pop — to visit

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