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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.

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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 · fall · lean · court · mouse · stick · band · content

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lean — to bend
  3. content — the amount
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of a king
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. court — for sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a music group
  17. court — of law
  18. content — happy
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. content — videos and posts
  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