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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: chest · pit · press · court · safe · mine · mate · key

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. court — of a king
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. key — in music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pit — a hole
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. press — a publisher
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — newspapers
  18. key — for a lock
  19. press — to push
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chest — a box
  23. court — of law
  24. key — the most important part

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