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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. race — a contest
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. race — humankind
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. trunk — of a tree

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