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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: tear · press · racket · last · scale · stand · court · safe

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — final
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — of law
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — to go on
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of a king
  10. last — finally
  11. press — newspapers
  12. scale — in music
  13. court — for sport
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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