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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. current — of water
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — a match
  6. current — happening now
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. race — a contest
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. race — the arms race
  11. current — electric
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. race — humankind
  18. game — wild animals

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