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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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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 · cap · wind · chair · mate · rule · lean · plane

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rule — government
  5. court — of law
  6. rule — a law
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lean — to bend
  14. court — of a king
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cap — a hat
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. lean — thin
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mate — to breed

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