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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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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: court · march · cabinet · prune · mark · net · press · can

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. can — to be able to
  3. press — newspapers
  4. court — of law
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — music
  8. can — a tin
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mark — a grade
  16. net — after costs
  17. prune — to trim
  18. press — to push
  19. mark — a trace
  20. can — a tin
  21. net — in sport
  22. march — the month
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. march — the month

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