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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 116 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: swing · court · racket · land · press · clip · chip · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. chip — to eat
  3. clip — for paper
  4. press — newspapers
  5. swing — music
  6. chip — for betting
  7. court — for sport
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rash — hasty
  10. court — of a king
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rash — a series
  13. land — to come down
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — to cut
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. land — ground
  21. court — of law
  22. clip — a video
  23. land — a country
  24. racket — a loud noise

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