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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cold — an illness
  3. scale — in music
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. court — of a king
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. track — a path
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. track — a song
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chair — a leader
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — for sport
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. scale — size or range

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