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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. firm — steady
  3. fall — the season
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fall — to drop
  10. firm — decided
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rest — a break
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — to drop
  17. key — the most important part
  18. court — of law
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. rest — what's left
  21. key — in music
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. court — of a king
  24. firm — a company

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