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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: court · spell · club · wake · tear · coach · press · current

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. current — of water
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — of law
  12. club — a group
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. court — for sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. court — of a king
  18. tear — from crying
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. club — for dancing
  24. tear — to rip

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