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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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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: court · cabinet · wound · hand · capital · mug · chair · bound

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. court — of a king
  2. mug — a face
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bound — obliged
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. capital — a city
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. capital — money
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mug — to rob
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — an injury
  19. court — for sport
  20. mug — a cup
  21. hand — help
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bound — certain
  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