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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. press — a publisher
  7. pound — a weight
  8. press — to push
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — newspapers
  17. court — of a king
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. court — for sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — help
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. court — of law

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