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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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. game — a match
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — of law
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. season — in sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. court — of a king
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rash — a series
  18. club — for dancing
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. club — a group
  21. season — of the year
  22. rash — hasty
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. game — wild animals

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