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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — of a king
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pop — soda
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. land — a country
  9. court — of law
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. court — for sport
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. land — to come down
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chair — a leader
  24. land — ground

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