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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a tool
  3. track — a path
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. race — humankind
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cue — a signal
  9. foot — a measure
  10. last — to go on
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. race — the arms race
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. last — finally
  17. track — a song
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. race — a contest
  20. cue — for pool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. last — final
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cue — a hint

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