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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
468
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: mate · object · game · straw · mark · chest · court · press

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. press — to push
  6. object — a thing
  7. court — of law
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chest — of your body
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — a match
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. court — for sport
  16. object — to protest
  17. chest — a box
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mark — a grade
  20. object — an aim
  21. press — a publisher
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. court — of a king

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