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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stem — to come from
  3. court — of a king
  4. object — to protest
  5. face — to confront
  6. chair — a leader
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. object — a thing
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ball — a great time
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. ball — a dance
  18. object — an aim
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. face — to point toward
  24. squash — the sport

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