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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: kick · press · bear · court · bat · rest

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. rest — a break
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. press — a publisher
  10. kick — in football
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. court — of law
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — to push
  18. kick — a thrill

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