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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pound — a weight
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. court — for sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. court — of law
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bowl — to roll

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