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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. court — for sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chest — a box
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. court — of law
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. chest — of your body
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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