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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 120 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: ball · court · march · object · present · chair · straw · deal

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. object — an aim
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. deal — to handle
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. court — of a king
  11. march — the month
  12. present — there
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ball — a dance
  15. march — music
  16. chair — a leader
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. present — the time now
  21. ball — a great time
  22. court — of law
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. deal — a big deal

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