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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. ball — a great time
  5. root — of a word
  6. lean — thin
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — of law
  11. lean — to bend
  12. file — a line of people
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a document
  18. spring — a coil
  19. press — to push
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — of a king
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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