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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. staff — a stick
  3. chair — a leader
  4. last — final
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. rule — a law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. foot — a measure
  12. court — of law
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. staff — employees
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. current — electric
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. staff — employees
  24. foot — part of the body

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