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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: swing · press · court · row · last · drill · lean · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. swing — to play on
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — finally
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — final
  7. lean — to bend
  8. court — for sport
  9. press — to push
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. press — a publisher
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. press — newspapers
  15. court — of a king
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. row — a line
  18. swing — music
  19. drill — the tool
  20. court — of law
  21. row — to paddle
  22. drill — a practice
  23. swing — in golf
  24. last — to go on

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