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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 120 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. club — a group
  8. pit — in a race
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. land — a country
  11. hand — help
  12. chair — a leader
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. court — of law
  15. club — for golf
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. land — to come down
  21. court — of a king
  22. hand — in cards
  23. court — for sport
  24. club — for dancing

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