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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 116 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: leaves · swing · press · tube · drill · court · mate · cell

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. court — of a king
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. tube — a container
  6. swing — to play on
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. drill — the tool
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. swing — in golf
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mate — to breed
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mate — a partner
  16. press — to push
  17. mate — a friend
  18. court — for sport
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. swing — music
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cell — a phone
  24. tube — the underground

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