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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. chair — a leader
  4. snap — to click
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — music
  9. rule — government
  10. game — a match
  11. rock — music
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bound — certain
  15. march — the month
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. tube — a container
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rule — a law
  24. game — a kind of play

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