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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: kick · cold · present · jam · press · court

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cold — an illness
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — not warm
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. court — for sport
  10. present — the time now
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. court — of a king
  15. press — newspapers
  16. court — of law
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. jam — in traffic

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