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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 · court · ground · stick · bark · jam · bass · cue

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of law
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cue — a signal
  12. court — of a king
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chair — a leader
  15. ground — crushed
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cue — a hint
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cue — for pool
  24. jam — in traffic

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