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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. game — a match
  5. court — of law
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. staff — employees
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — humankind
  12. staff — a stick
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — of a king
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — wild animals
  18. craft — a skill
  19. track — a song
  20. hand — help
  21. race — a contest
  22. craft — boats
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. staff — employees

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