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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kid — child
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bark — to shout
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. court — for sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — of a king
  17. lie — to recline
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of law
  24. nail — on a finger

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