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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: press · sharp · court · mine · pitcher · shower · date · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. court — for sport
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — for digging
  8. press — newspapers
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. press — to push
  12. shower — rain
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. date — the fruit
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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