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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: press · chest · safe · court · bay · march · nail · game

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of law
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. press — to push
  8. march — the month
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — a match
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. court — of a king
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. game — wild animals
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. court — for sport
  19. march — music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — a kind of play

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