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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. game — a match
  5. object — a thing
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. drill — army training
  10. object — to protest
  11. mine — for digging
  12. court — of law
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. object — an aim
  18. court — of a king
  19. branch — a division
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rock — a stone
  24. court — for sport

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