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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: chair · bowl · scale · lean · fine · fork · squash · court

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. court — for sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chair — a leader
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. court — of law
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. scale — in music
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. scale — for weighing

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