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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: court · wound · chair · cabinet · ground · march · stock · last

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. march — the month
  5. last — finally
  6. march — music
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. last — final
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — shares
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. court — of law
  18. ground — a position
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — for sport
  22. stock — goods
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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