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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of a king
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. court — of law
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. land — ground
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wake — a trail
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. court — for sport
  24. wake — before a funeral

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