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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. court — of a king
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. press — a publisher
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ground — crushed
  17. press — to push
  18. ground — a position
  19. press — newspapers
  20. track — a song
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — the earth
  24. track — a path

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