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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. charge — electricity
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — of law
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. club — a group
  10. stem — to come from
  11. charge — in control
  12. club — for dancing
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — of a king
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wax — to grow
  21. charge — a price
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. coach — a trainer

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