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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: straw · coach · hand · court · tube · ball · press · march

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. court — of law
  5. press — newspapers
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hand — in cards
  8. court — for sport
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ball — a great time
  12. tube — a container
  13. march — music
  14. ball — a dance
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hand — help
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. press — to push
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. press — a publisher

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