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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cap — of ice
  3. court — of a king
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. court — for sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. branch — a division
  8. cap — a lid
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cap — a hat
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. court — of law
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chair — a leader
  24. degree — an amount

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