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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. land — a country
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mine — for digging
  9. land — ground
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — child
  12. degree — temperature
  13. board — to get on
  14. land — to come down
  15. board — a committee
  16. last — final
  17. key — in music
  18. last — finally
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a leader
  22. key — the most important part
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. chair — to sit on

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