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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
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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: game · court · squash · press · straw · season · arm · leaves

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. court — of a king
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. game — wild animals
  5. press — to push
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. press — newspapers
  9. squash — the sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. season — in sport
  14. press — a publisher
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — of law
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. arm — part of the body

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