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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: game · fall · bore · chair · ground · court · deal · stem

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chair — a leader
  5. ground — crushed
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. stem — to come from
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. deal — to handle
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. ground — the earth
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — the season
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ground — a position
  24. stem — of a plant

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