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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 120 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: chair · fall · court · race · foot · game · swing · file

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. file — a tool
  3. swing — in golf
  4. court — of a king
  5. fall — the season
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a line of people
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. file — a document
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — to drop
  14. game — a match
  15. race — a contest
  16. fall — to drop
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. court — of law
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. foot — a measure
  24. swing — music

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