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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. root — of a word
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. court — of a king
  9. press — to push
  10. game — a match
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — the cause
  15. season — in sport
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. season — of the year
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bulb — for light

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