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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 116 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: pit · fan · rest · mark · chair · cap · hand · court

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mark — a trace
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rest — a break
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — of a king
  17. hand — help
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. court — of law
  22. rest — what's left
  23. court — for sport
  24. pit — a hole

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