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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · rash · rock · mine · pitch · chair · cap · ground

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. court — of a king
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rash — a series
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cap — of ice
  15. court — for sport
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. court — of law
  22. ground — the earth
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rock — music

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