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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. court — of law
  3. charge — a price
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bat — the animal
  6. sharp — clever
  7. charge — in control
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — of a king
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. charge — electricity
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. content — the amount
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. lean — thin
  17. content — happy
  18. clip — a video
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. court — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. clip — to cut
  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