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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: bat · press · snap · chair · mug · swing · court · wax

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mug — a cup
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. press — to push
  13. mug — a face
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. swing — in golf
  16. press — a publisher
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. snap — to click
  21. press — newspapers
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — of law

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