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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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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: bank · key · cabinet · cold · lie · hand · court · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. court — for sport
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — of a king
  5. hand — help
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — in music
  8. court — of law
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bank — for money
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bank — for money
  18. hand — in cards
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — to recline
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bank — of a river
  24. lie — an untruth

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