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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tube — a container
  16. bass — low music
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cold — the Cold War

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