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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 116 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: bay · press · hand · racket · court · land

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. hand — help
  6. land — a country
  7. court — of a king
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. land — to come down
  10. press — a publisher
  11. land — ground
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers

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