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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: chair · arm · board · cap · mark · court · wake · cold

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cap — a hat
  3. court — of law
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. court — of a king
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cap — a lid
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — for sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cap — of ice
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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