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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: pop · ball · file · scale · chair · court · stand · fall

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pop — soda
  3. court — of law
  4. file — a tool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. court — for sport
  9. ball — a dance
  10. scale — in music
  11. court — of a king
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pop — to visit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pop — music
  22. ball — a great time
  23. stand — to bear
  24. file — a document

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