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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. present — a gift
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. present — the time now
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — finally
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chair — a leader
  12. court — of law
  13. game — a match
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. present — there
  16. last — to go on
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — final
  23. court — for sport
  24. perch — the fish

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