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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. band — a music group
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mate — a friend
  6. court — of a king
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — ground
  10. court — of law
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. land — to come down
  13. mate — a partner
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mate — to breed
  19. band — a ring
  20. land — a country
  21. court — for sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. press — to push
  24. foot — the bottom

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