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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rule — government
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. ball — a dance
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chair — a leader
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. vault — a safe
  17. band — a ring
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — of law
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. court — of a king
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. band — a music group

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