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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: press · game · staff · straw · bulb · court · deal · capital

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. court — of law
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. staff — a stick
  6. court — for sport
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bulb — for light
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. staff — employees
  16. deal — to handle
  17. capital — money
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. court — of a king
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. staff — employees
  24. bulb — of a plant

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