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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. court — for sport
  3. pop — soda
  4. suit — to fit
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. file — a tool
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — of a king
  11. suit — in cards
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pop — music
  15. spring — of water
  16. suit — clothes
  17. file — a document
  18. court — of law
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. spring — the season
  23. bound — tied together
  24. file — a line of people

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