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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: net · jam · firm · capital · rule · court · arm · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — a city
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rule — a law
  7. capital — money
  8. firm — decided
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — for sport
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. court — of a king
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. court — of law
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. chair — a leader
  24. capital — a big letter

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