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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. court — of a king
  3. hand — help
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. ground — a position
  6. roll — a cake
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ground — the earth
  11. roll — a list
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ground — crushed
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. chip — to eat
  24. hand — part of the 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