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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · arm · last · press · cue · coach · bear · degree

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. court — of a king
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cue — a hint
  5. degree — temperature
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. press — a publisher
  11. court — for sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. degree — from a university
  15. court — of law
  16. bear — the animal
  17. press — newspapers
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. degree — an amount
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. last — finally
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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