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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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 a king
  2. band — a music group
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. key — in music
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wax — to grow
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a ring
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. court — for sport
  14. key — the most important part
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. court — of law
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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