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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — of a king
  4. pop — soda
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. net — in sport
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hand — help
  14. net — for catching
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — in cards
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. net — after costs
  22. sharp — clever
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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