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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: chest · race · press · court · bulb · pass

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — humankind
  6. press — to push
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chest — a box
  9. race — a contest
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. race — the arms race
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — for sport
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. court — of law

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