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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: foot · press · court · mug · pitcher · chest · current · bank

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bank — of a river
  5. press — to push
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. chest — a box
  8. mug — a face
  9. court — for sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bank — for money
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. current — of water
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. current — electric
  19. bank — for money
  20. current — happening now
  21. foot — a measure
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. foot — the bottom

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