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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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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: firm · pound · court · last · press · swing · pit · racket

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pit — a hole
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. press — a publisher
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — a weight
  9. firm — decided
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. press — newspapers
  13. court — for sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. firm — a company
  16. last — final
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. swing — in golf
  19. firm — steady
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. swing — to play on
  22. press — to push
  23. swing — music
  24. pound — to hit hard

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