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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chair — a leader
  5. court — for sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fine — high quality
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — child
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fine — all right
  14. court — of law
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. land — a country
  19. kid — to tease
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. land — ground
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a ring

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