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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bass — low music
  7. race — a contest
  8. row — a line
  9. race — the arms race
  10. lean — thin
  11. season — in sport
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ground — crushed
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lean — to bend
  17. ground — a position
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bass — the fish
  22. race — humankind
  23. season — of the year
  24. nail — on a finger

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