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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: cabinet · prune · rest · ground · swing · press · court · shower

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. court — of a king
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — of law
  8. press — to push
  9. court — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rest — a break
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ground — a position
  20. press — a publisher
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. ground — the earth
  24. swing — music

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