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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — humankind
  3. sharp — clever
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. suit — to fit
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. suit — in cards
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a city
  16. chair — a leader
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. capital — money
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. suit — clothes

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