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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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Word bank
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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. mug — to rob
  2. court — for sport
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — a face
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — not warm
  7. key — in music
  8. present — there
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. court — of law
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. key — the most important part
  16. object — a thing
  17. cold — an illness
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — the time now
  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