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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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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: sharp · staff · mark · last · fall · chair · court · game

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a trace
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — of a king
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. game — a match
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. last — final
  17. staff — employees
  18. last — to go on
  19. staff — a stick
  20. last — finally
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mark — a grade
  24. game — a kind of play

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