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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. object — to protest
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. object — an aim
  8. court — of law
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — to eat
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. object — a thing
  22. court — for sport
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chip — in a computer

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