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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 116 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spell — magic
  3. court — of a king
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. net — after costs
  6. court — for sport
  7. press — to push
  8. fall — to drop
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — of law
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. spell — letters
  13. bore — to drill
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. spell — a short time
  16. snap — to click
  17. net — in sport
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. press — newspapers
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fall — the season
  23. bore — to tire
  24. net — for catching

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