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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: last · court · cabinet · swing · wake · fall · chair · pound

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. court — of a king
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. last — finally
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. swing — music
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pound — a weight
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fall — the season
  18. court — of law
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — for sport
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. swing — to play on

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