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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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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: press · court · bat · snap · lean · temple · wake · kid

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. court — for sport
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — to push
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. snap — to click
  14. lean — thin
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wake — a trail
  21. court — of law
  22. press — a publisher
  23. court — of a king
  24. wake — before a funeral

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