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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 120 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: ground · bear · press · game · calf · pit · spell · court

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of a king
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spell — letters
  6. court — for sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spell — a short time
  9. court — of law
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. bear — the animal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bear — the animal
  19. press — to push
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. press — a publisher
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. ground — a position

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