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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rush — hurry
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bear — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stem — to come from
  21. court — of law
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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