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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: lean · season · fan · court · chair · spring · press · pit

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. press — a publisher
  5. court — of law
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. season — of the year
  10. court — for sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pit — a hole
  13. court — of a king
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. press — newspapers
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. lean — to bend
  20. spring — a coil
  21. press — to push
  22. pit — in a race
  23. lean — thin
  24. season — in 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