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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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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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. capital — money
  4. club — a group
  5. cue — a signal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. track — a path
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cue — a hint
  11. club — for golf
  12. track — a song
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitcher — a jug

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