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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — wild animals
  3. scale — size or range
  4. staff — a stick
  5. race — a contest
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. race — humankind
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. staff — employees
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. scale — in music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — a match
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bass — low music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. race — the arms race
  24. staff — employees

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