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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. face — to confront
  4. fork — in a road
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. press — newspapers
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. press — a publisher
  12. court — of law
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rash — a series
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rash — hasty
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — an amount
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bulb — for light
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. press — to push
  24. bulb — of a plant

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