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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. track — a path
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — goods
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. track — a song
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stock — shares
  19. chair — a leader
  20. last — to go on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. race — humankind

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