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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. file — a document
  3. drill — army training
  4. hand — help
  5. chair — a leader
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. face — to confront
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — part of the head
  10. court — of law
  11. hand — in cards
  12. plane — a tool
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. file — a tool
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. branch — a division
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. face — to point toward
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. drill — the tool

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