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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: straw · cap · content · court · temple · spell · club · press

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. club — for golf
  4. court — of a king
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. press — to push
  7. spell — letters
  8. cap — a hat
  9. court — of law
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. club — a group
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cap — a lid
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. spell — magic
  18. content — the amount
  19. court — for sport
  20. content — happy
  21. cap — of ice
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. spell — a short time
  24. press — newspapers

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