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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spell — a short time
  4. track — to keep track
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. chest — of your body
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chest — a box
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. race — humankind
  18. spell — magic
  19. race — the arms race
  20. spell — letters
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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