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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: lean · chair · bore · court · hide · race · swing · wake

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — of a king
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. court — for sport
  5. bore — to drill
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. lean — thin
  8. bore — to tire
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. race — humankind
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. lean — to bend
  13. court — of law
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. race — a contest
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. race — the arms race

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