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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.

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 · chair · file · plane · sharp · spell · bass · fan

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. court — for sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a document
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chair — a leader
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bass — the fish
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bass — low music
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a tool
  16. spell — letters
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. sharp — clever
  19. plane — a tool
  20. court — of law
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bass — the instrument

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