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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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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 · ball · drill · race · suit · straw · court · kick

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kick — in football
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. suit — in cards
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ball — a dance
  7. court — of law
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. suit — to fit
  11. race — a contest
  12. suit — clothes
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. court — for sport
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. court — of a king
  24. race — humankind

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