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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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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: chair · wind · cell · ground · court · fine · foot · board

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. foot — a measure
  3. board — a committee
  4. court — of law
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. board — to get on
  7. ground — crushed
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fine — all right
  15. cell — a phone
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. chair — a leader
  19. fine — high quality
  20. court — for sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — of a king
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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