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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. court — of a king
  3. press — a publisher
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. race — the arms race
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. race — humankind
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. race — a contest
  20. press — to push
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. press — newspapers
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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