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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: board · hand · staff · ground · charge · band · court · chair

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. staff — employees
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. staff — employees
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hand — in cards
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. chair — a leader
  12. staff — a stick
  13. ground — the earth
  14. band — a music group
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. board — a committee
  17. band — a ring
  18. board — to get on
  19. hand — help
  20. charge — electricity
  21. court — of law
  22. ground — a position
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. band — a rubber band

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