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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. court — for sport
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bass — low music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bat — the animal
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. date — the fruit
  22. capital — a city
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. court — of a king

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