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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. object — an aim
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. court — of a king
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. bark — to shout
  8. court — of law
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cap — a lid
  16. object — to protest
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chair — a leader
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cap — a hat
  22. court — for sport
  23. game — wild animals
  24. object — a thing

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