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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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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 · kid · lean · rest · court · swing · press · wax

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. tube — the underground
  4. court — of a king
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rest — what's left
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wax — to grow
  10. swing — music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. rest — a break
  18. tube — a container
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lean — thin
  23. rest — what's left
  24. press — a publisher

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