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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. pop — soda
  3. press — to push
  4. land — ground
  5. pop — music
  6. court — for sport
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. sharp — clever
  10. land — to come down
  11. press — a publisher
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. perch — the fish
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. court — of law
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bound — certain
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — a country
  24. bound — obliged

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