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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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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: court · capital · firm · saw · swing · march · chair · mate

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. firm — steady
  3. mate — to breed
  4. firm — decided
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. capital — a city
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mate — a partner
  9. saw — the tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. firm — a company
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. court — for sport
  17. mate — a friend
  18. saw — the tool
  19. swing — to play on
  20. march — music
  21. chair — a leader
  22. capital — money
  23. swing — music
  24. march — the month

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