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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bore — to tire
  3. race — humankind
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. last — finally
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. race — a contest
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. march — music
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. squash — the sport
  19. last — final
  20. foot — a measure
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. last — to go on
  24. chip — in a computer

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