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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. drill — army training
  7. mug — a face
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mug — to rob
  10. chair — a leader
  11. court — of law
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. face — to point toward
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — the season
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spring — of water
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mug — a cup
  23. face — part of the head
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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