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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. court — of law
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — to push
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pop — to visit
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. object — a thing
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. object — to protest
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — for catching
  19. object — an aim
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bulb — for light
  23. track — a song
  24. fan — a supporter

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