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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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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: hand · court · race · bowl · bark · rest · toast · press

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bark — to shout
  5. press — to push
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. race — the arms race
  8. court — of a king
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rest — a break
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rest — what's left
  16. race — humankind
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. toast — bread
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. race — a contest
  22. press — newspapers
  23. court — of law
  24. hand — help

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