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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stand — to bear
  13. key — in music
  14. court — of law
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. file — a tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fall — the season
  19. key — the most important part
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. court — of a king

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