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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. capital — a city
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. drill — army training
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. game — a match
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. drill — a practice
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. capital — money
  18. foot — a measure
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rock — a stone
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. foot — the bottom

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