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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — a contest
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cue — a signal
  14. current — happening now
  15. branch — a division
  16. cue — a hint
  17. scale — in music
  18. cue — for pool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — electric
  22. current — of water
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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