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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: cold · toast · mouse · chair · craft · nail · stand · court

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. toast — bread
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. court — of law
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cold — not warm
  14. craft — a skill
  15. court — of a king
  16. craft — boats
  17. court — for sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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