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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: sharp · race · chair · foot · saw · file · court · swing

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. chair — a leader
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. file — a line of people
  6. race — a contest
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. swing — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. file — a document
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. race — the arms race
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. court — of law
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. foot — a measure
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. file — a tool
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. swing — to play on
  24. race — humankind

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