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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lean — to bend
  4. press — a publisher
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. lean — thin
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. press — to push
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. fine — all right
  13. kid — child
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. court — of a king
  20. wax — to grow
  21. swing — music
  22. court — of law
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. swing — in golf

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