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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. ground — a position
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. court — of law
  6. tube — the underground
  7. court — for sport
  8. mine — for digging
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. press — to push
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. degree — temperature
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ground — crushed
  22. degree — an amount
  23. court — of a king
  24. tube — a container

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