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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wake — a trail
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — obliged
  8. field — farmland
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bound — certain
  13. field — a subject
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — a match
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — for sport
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. capital — a city
  24. row — a line

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