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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: tube · press · court · wind · hand · staff · firm · game

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. staff — a stick
  6. press — newspapers
  7. court — of a king
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wind — moving air
  10. staff — employees
  11. press — a publisher
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. game — a match
  16. tube — a container
  17. court — for sport
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wind — moving air
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. press — to push
  23. firm — decided
  24. court — of law

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