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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. clip — a video
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. press — to push
  6. chest — a box
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — of law
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pit — in a race
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pass — a permit
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. perch — the fish
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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