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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: mine · deal · chair · club · lie · file · court · wake

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — of law
  10. file — a tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. court — of a king
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mine — for digging
  16. club — a group
  17. deal — to handle
  18. club — for golf
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a document
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. court — for sport
  24. mine — an explosive

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