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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — a division
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. court — of law
  19. row — to paddle
  20. drill — the tool
  21. chair — a leader
  22. foot — a measure
  23. row — a line
  24. foot — part of the body

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