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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. key — in music
  4. chair — a leader
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — boats
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. race — the arms race
  14. root — the cause
  15. race — humankind
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. key — for a lock
  18. root — of a word
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — the animal

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