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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. spring — a coil
  4. game — a match
  5. present — the time now
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. land — ground
  8. spring — the season
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. present — there
  11. land — a country
  12. last — finally
  13. root — the cause
  14. last — final
  15. spring — of water
  16. charge — electricity
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — of a word
  19. land — to come down
  20. present — a gift
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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