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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: tube · court · press · cap · ball · chest · bark · chair

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — of ice
  5. press — to push
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ball — a dance
  12. press — newspapers
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bark — to shout
  15. press — a publisher
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. tube — a container
  22. court — of law
  23. chest — a box
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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