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

Word bank: date · scale · court · press · fall · arm · wind · root

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. press — a publisher
  3. court — of a king
  4. date — the fruit
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. root — the cause
  7. court — of law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — for sport
  14. root — of a word
  15. press — to push
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fall — the season
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. root — of a plant

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