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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. court — of law
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bound — certain
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitch — completely
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rock — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rock — a stone
  12. clip — a video
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — for paper
  19. press — to push
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. press — newspapers
  22. court — for sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. court — of a king

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