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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: court · kid · press · cue · wave · fork

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cue — a signal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. court — of law
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. fork — in a road
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cue — for pool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. court — of a king
  15. press — to push
  16. court — for sport
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kid — child

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