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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mate — a partner
  4. court — of law
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pound — a weight
  12. press — to push
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. press — a publisher
  16. court — of a king
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bore — to tire
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. mate — a friend
  23. season — of the year
  24. mate — to breed

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