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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: bat · court · cap · toast · chair · cue · bank · tube

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. toast — bread
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bank — of a river
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tube — a container
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. court — for sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bank — for money
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tube — the underground

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