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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. press — to push
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pop — to visit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — music
  13. court — for sport
  14. press — a publisher
  15. kid — child
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. land — to come down
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pop — soda

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