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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. perch — the fish
  3. court — for sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in biology
  6. press — to push
  7. court — of law
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. court — of a king
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wake — a trail
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pit — a hole

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