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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fine — high quality
  3. object — to protest
  4. court — of law
  5. fine — all right
  6. ball — a dance
  7. roll — a list
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. object — an aim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — a thing
  14. court — for sport
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. prune — to trim
  18. roll — a cake
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. scale — in music
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. court — of a king
  24. scale — for weighing

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