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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: present · bore · bear · court · land · chair · arm · stick

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. present — a gift
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. court — of law
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — there
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of a king
  15. bear — the animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — a country
  23. chair — a leader
  24. present — the time now

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