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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: swing · hand · bore · press · court · tear · chest · mate

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. swing — in golf
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of a king
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. press — newspapers
  13. hand — help
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. tear — to rip
  17. court — for sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mate — a friend
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mate — to breed
  24. hand — in cards

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