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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. land — a country
  3. face — to confront
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. spell — letters
  8. saw — the tool
  9. board — to get on
  10. staff — employees
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. board — a committee
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. court — of law
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. court — of a king
  23. staff — a stick
  24. chair — to sit on

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