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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. game — wild animals
  3. last — to go on
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. last — final
  6. season — in sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. game — a match
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — money
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. court — of a king
  21. chip — to eat
  22. last — finally
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bay — a horse colour

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