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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. court — of a king
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. net — for catching
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. hand — help
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. net — after costs
  12. fork — in a road
  13. press — to push
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ground — the earth
  18. capital — a city
  19. net — in sport
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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