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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. charge — a price
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. spell — magic
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bark — to shout
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. charge — electricity
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. spell — letters
  23. charge — in control
  24. chair — to sit on

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