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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: march · chest · pass · press · court · swing

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pass — a permit
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. swing — in golf
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. march — the month
  11. chest — a box
  12. press — newspapers
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — of law
  15. march — music
  16. court — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — music

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