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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: court · cold · nail · season · chair · rock · rash · ruler

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — in sport
  4. court — for sport
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. court — of law
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. season — of the year
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rash — a series
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rock — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rash — on the skin

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