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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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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: court · safe · march · cold · cabinet · press · pit · fork

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. court — of law
  3. press — newspapers
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pit — in a race
  16. fork — in a road
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. march — music
  19. press — to push
  20. march — the month
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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