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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: press · coach · court · wind · toast · nail · degree · cell

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. press — to push
  4. degree — temperature
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. court — of a king
  7. press — newspapers
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. press — a publisher
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cell — in biology
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wind — moving air
  21. toast — bread
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — for sport

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