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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · court · bound · capital · content · bore · pit · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bore — to drill
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pit — a hole
  8. court — of a king
  9. chair — a leader
  10. court — of law
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. court — for sport
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. content — happy

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