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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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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: scale · cell · board · fork · wake · squash · court · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — of a king
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cell — in biology
  13. squash — the sport
  14. court — for sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. scale — size or range
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. scale — in music

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