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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. march — the month
  7. court — of a king
  8. swing — to play on
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — of law
  11. firm — decided
  12. chair — a leader
  13. march — music
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. mine — for digging
  16. firm — a company
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. swing — in golf
  19. firm — steady
  20. march — the month
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. race — humankind
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. swing — music

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