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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. last — to go on
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — for sport
  5. chair — a leader
  6. game — wild animals
  7. last — finally
  8. court — of law
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kid — to tease
  11. key — for a lock
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — final
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — a match
  20. kid — child
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. staff — a stick
  24. key — in music

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