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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 120 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: court · present · press · race · band · spring · swing · bore

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. race — humankind
  3. court — of law
  4. band — a music group
  5. court — for sport
  6. bore — to tire
  7. press — newspapers
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spring — a coil
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. swing — to play on
  12. court — of a king
  13. race — a contest
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — the time now
  18. spring — of water
  19. present — there
  20. press — a publisher
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. press — to push

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