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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · press · court · wound · pop · track · object · bat

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pop — soda
  4. track — a path
  5. kid — child
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of law
  9. wound — an injury
  10. object — to protest
  11. track — to keep track
  12. press — newspapers
  13. track — a song
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. press — to push
  16. court — of a king
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. object — a thing
  19. bat — the animal
  20. object — an aim
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. wound — an injury

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