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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. staff — employees
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fine — all right
  7. foot — a measure
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of a king
  11. snap — to click
  12. chair — a leader
  13. court — of law
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. last — final
  18. staff — a stick
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. last — finally

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