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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: court · straw · chair · mark · kick · cabinet · game · last

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. last — final
  3. game — wild animals
  4. court — of law
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chair — a leader
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. court — of a king
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. mark — a grade
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — to go on

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