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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. 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. chair — to sit on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of a king
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. court — for sport
  11. spell — letters
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bear — the animal
  18. 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