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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. press — newspapers
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. press — to push
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. club — for golf
  16. court — of law
  17. club — a group
  18. court — of a king
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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