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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. chair — a leader
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — the arms race
  8. roll — a cake
  9. row — a line
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rest — what's left
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. roll — a list
  19. rest — a break
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. row — to paddle

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