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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — the arms race
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. race — a contest
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — the earth
  9. row — to paddle
  10. ground — a position
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. court — for sport
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. court — of law
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. capital — a city
  22. race — humankind
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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