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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: chair · nail · kid · row · court · land · saw · cabinet

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — child
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. land — ground
  6. court — of a king
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. row — a line

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