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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. last — final
  3. court — of a king
  4. march — music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a skill
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. march — the month
  14. craft — boats
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. last — finally
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. last — to go on
  22. row — a line
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chair — a leader

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