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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. kid — child
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. court — of law
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bark — to shout
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. ruler — for measuring

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