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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cue — a hint
  11. march — music
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. court — of law
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. club — for golf
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cue — for pool
  20. march — the month
  21. cue — a signal
  22. court — of a king
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. club — a group

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