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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: tube · kid · fan · net · press · rest · pitcher · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. press — to push
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — of law
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — child
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tube — a container
  18. net — after costs
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rest — a break
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. tube — the underground

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