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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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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: coach · bass · tear · press · squash · kid · court · bay

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. press — a publisher
  6. court — for sport
  7. bass — the fish
  8. squash — to crush
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of law
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bass — low music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. squash — the sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. kid — child
  24. press — to push

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