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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chair — a leader
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — of law
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. deal — to handle
  18. ground — the earth
  19. capital — a city
  20. chest — a box
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. court — of a king
  23. kick — in football
  24. capital — money

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