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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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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: fan · chest · press · root · pop · cell · charge · court

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. root — the cause
  5. charge — in control
  6. pop — soda
  7. chest — of your body
  8. charge — a price
  9. cell — a phone
  10. press — to push
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — of law
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pop — to visit
  16. court — of a king
  17. root — of a word
  18. press — a publisher
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cell — in biology
  22. court — for sport
  23. charge — electricity
  24. chest — a box

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