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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. court — of a king
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chip — to eat
  8. court — of law
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. court — for sport
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bound — certain

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