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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. court — of a king
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kick — in football
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — for sport
  11. ball — a dance
  12. object — to protest
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. object — a thing
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. court — of law
  23. object — an aim
  24. ball — a round shape

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