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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. court — for sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. court — of a king
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stand — to bear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. degree — temperature
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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