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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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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: key · spring · squash · deal · chair · object · kid · court

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — a leader
  6. object — a thing
  7. kid — to tease
  8. object — to protest
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. court — of a king
  11. squash — the sport
  12. court — for sport
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. spring — of water
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. spring — the season
  18. key — the most important part
  19. deal — to handle
  20. object — an aim
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kid — child
  23. court — of law
  24. key — in 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