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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · club · nail · court · chair · hide

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. club — a group
  6. court — of law
  7. chair — a leader
  8. court — of a king
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. club — for dancing
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. club — for golf
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. court — for sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chair — to sit on

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