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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bore — to tire
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. court — for sport
  8. press — to push
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — newspapers
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. bore — to drill
  17. press — a publisher
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. court — of a king
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bore — gave birth

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