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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. race — a contest
  3. pit — in a race
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. race — the arms race
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. race — humankind
  11. degree — temperature
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. spell — magic
  14. scale — size or range
  15. board — a committee
  16. scale — in music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. board — to get on
  19. ball — a dance
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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