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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. race — humankind
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. track — a song
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. track — a path
  12. scale — size or range
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. race — a contest
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. race — the arms race
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. land — to come down
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. dip — to sink
  24. field — farmland

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