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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. game — a match
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. key — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. race — a contest
  16. ball — a dance
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fork — in a road
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ball — a great time
  22. key — the most important part
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. game — wild animals

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