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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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 — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — help
  4. row — to paddle
  5. object — to protest
  6. press — newspapers
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. court — of a king
  13. row — a line
  14. rest — a break
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rest — what's left
  20. press — to push
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chip — to eat
  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