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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: rock · firm · last · pitcher · present · mine · court · staff

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. court — for sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. firm — a company
  8. present — there
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. firm — steady
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. staff — a stick
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. present — the time now
  16. court — of law
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. firm — decided
  19. staff — employees
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rock — a stone
  22. last — final
  23. rock — music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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