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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: shower · pit · chest · court · face · chair · rush · ruler

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. court — of law
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chest — a box
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. court — for sport
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. face — to confront
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pit — a hole

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