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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 116 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: swing · chair · straw · press · bear · last · ball · court

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. court — for sport
  4. press — newspapers
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. court — of a king
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. press — to push
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ball — a dance
  22. swing — music
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bear — to put up with

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