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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. kick — in football
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. court — of a king
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chair — a leader
  16. court — of law
  17. rash — hasty
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rash — a series
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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