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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spell — letters
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lean — to bend
  5. press — a publisher
  6. court — of a king
  7. spell — a short time
  8. object — an aim
  9. lean — thin
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. spell — magic
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. row — a line
  16. object — to protest
  17. press — to push
  18. tear — from crying
  19. press — newspapers
  20. court — for sport
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. tear — to rip
  23. object — a thing
  24. row — to paddle

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