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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chair — a leader
  4. swing — music
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. court — for sport
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. swing — to play on
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fine — all right
  15. court — of law
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. net — in sport
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lean — to bend
  20. net — for catching
  21. capital — a city
  22. lean — thin
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — in golf

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