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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: press · pit · court · rash · net · squash · kick · rest

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. rest — a break
  5. rash — a series
  6. press — newspapers
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pit — a hole
  9. net — for catching
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. net — in sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. net — after costs
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rest — what's left
  19. court — for sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. squash — the sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pit — in a race

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