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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: scale · court · press · hide · leaves · swing · kid · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. swing — to play on
  4. scale — in music
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. court — of law
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. press — to push
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. scale — size or range
  15. press — a publisher
  16. swing — in golf
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. kid — child
  20. press — newspapers
  21. swing — music
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. kid — to tease

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