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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. row — a line
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chair — a leader
  7. charge — electricity
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chest — of your body
  16. charge — in control
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. charge — a price
  21. court — of law
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. court — of a king

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