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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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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: kid · press · rest · pitcher · lean · court · tear · toast

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — thin
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. kid — to tease
  9. press — newspapers
  10. court — for sport
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rest — what's left
  13. toast — bread
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. kid — child
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — from crying
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. pitcher — a jug

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