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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: fan · chair · press · tube · ground · court · kid · hand

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — child
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — newspapers
  7. chair — a leader
  8. press — a publisher
  9. court — of law
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. tube — the underground
  12. court — for sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — in cards
  15. court — of a king
  16. tube — a container
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ground — a position
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. press — to push
  24. chair — a professorship

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