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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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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: season · press · tear · club · court · swing · cue · fall

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fall — to drop
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cue — a hint
  6. season — of the year
  7. club — for golf
  8. fall — the season
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — a signal
  11. court — of a king
  12. season — in sport
  13. press — a publisher
  14. court — of law
  15. cue — for pool
  16. court — for sport
  17. swing — music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. swing — to play on
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — a group
  23. press — newspapers
  24. tear — to rip

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