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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. court — for sport
  3. press — to push
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. lean — thin
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — in music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. court — of law
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. press — a publisher
  17. lean — to bend
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. degree — an amount
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. court — of a king
  23. scale — size or range
  24. press — newspapers

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