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

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. key — in music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chair — a leader
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — a trace
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. key — the most important part
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. fine — high quality
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. fine — all right
  14. bass — low music
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bass — the fish
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. mark — a grade
  22. race — a contest
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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