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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: file · fall · fork · chair · court · last · pound · bass

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — final
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. last — finally
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. file — a document
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — the season

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