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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: chest · tube · court · pass · game · coach · roll · press

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. press — to push
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — a list
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tube — a container
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pass — a permit
  16. game — a match
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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