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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — a leader
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fall — the season
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. court — of a king
  13. lean — to bend
  14. board — to get on
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lean — thin
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. board — a committee
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. mine — belonging to me

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