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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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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: hand · press · ball · court · roll · bear · fan · game

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. court — for sport
  3. roll — a cake
  4. court — of law
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. game — a match
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hand — help
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. press — to push
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bear — the animal
  22. court — of a king
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. roll — a list

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