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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: court · fall · bowl · calf · wind · chair · plane · capital

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — moving air
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. court — of a king
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. court — of law
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — money
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. court — for sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. chair — a leader
  24. plane — a tool

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