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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bound — obliged
  3. chair — a leader
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bound — tied together
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — farmland
  16. ball — a great time
  17. field — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — a subject
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a round shape

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