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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — a leader
  4. race — humankind
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cue — for pool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — to go on
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. race — a contest
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cue — a hint

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