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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — from crying
  4. court — for sport
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. staff — a stick
  14. pitch — completely
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of law
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. staff — employees
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. pitch — a sports field

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