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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. court — of a king
  6. rest — what's left
  7. clip — to cut
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. race — the arms race
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — for sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. press — a publisher
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rule — a law
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — government
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. race — a contest
  24. press — to push

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