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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. prune — to trim
  5. land — ground
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. fork — in a road
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. game — a match
  11. land — a country
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. game — wild animals
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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