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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: press · pitch · club · band · cell · present · swing · court

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. court — for sport
  3. present — there
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. band — a ring
  7. cell — in biology
  8. press — a publisher
  9. swing — to play on
  10. club — for golf
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. pitch — completely
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. press — to push
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — a phone
  19. club — a group
  20. court — of a king
  21. press — newspapers
  22. present — a gift
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. present — the time now

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