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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 120 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — government
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bat — the animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rule — a law
  20. race — humankind
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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