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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — of a king
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. club — a group
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. squash — the vegetable

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