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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · cold · squash · season · lash · vault · press · march

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. season — of the year
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. press — to push
  6. court — of law
  7. march — music
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cold — an illness
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. press — newspapers
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. vault — a safe
  18. march — the month
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — the sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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