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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: bowl · fall · straw · court · bay · file · degree · chair

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a document
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. file — a tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. fall — the season
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of law

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