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

Word bank: press · kid · pop · wave · clip · court · ground · arm

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. court — of a king
  3. press — to push
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — the earth
  6. court — of law
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. court — for sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pop — to visit
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. press — a publisher
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — soda
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ground — a position
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. ground — crushed
  24. press — newspapers

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