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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — child
  4. race — a contest
  5. pop — to visit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. race — humankind
  9. pop — music
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. kid — to tease
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cap — of ice
  15. squash — the sport
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pop — soda
  18. race — the arms race
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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