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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. capital — a city
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. court — of a king
  9. present — there
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — for sport
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. tear — to rip
  18. court — of law
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — money
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. wound — an injury

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