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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of a king
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. court — for sport
  9. rash — a series
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. press — a publisher
  13. court — of law
  14. press — to push
  15. chest — a box
  16. rash — hasty
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. clip — a video
  21. vault — a safe
  22. bass — low music
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cell — a phone

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