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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · press · saw · court · chair · present · coach · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fall — the season
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. press — to push
  10. court — of law
  11. present — a gift
  12. press — a publisher
  13. court — of a king
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fall — to drop
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — of water
  24. coach — a trainer

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