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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: mine · toast · stand · jam · court · bay · chair · cold

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. court — of law
  3. chair — a leader
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mine — for digging
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — not warm
  12. court — of a king
  13. toast — bread
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stand — to bear
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. court — for sport
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. jam — in traffic

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