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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. rest — what's left
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — for sport
  5. degree — an amount
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bound — certain
  8. staff — employees
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. bound — obliged
  16. press — to push
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. content — happy
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rest — what's left
  21. degree — temperature
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rest — a break
  24. degree — from a university

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