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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 116 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — to fit
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. race — humankind
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. race — the arms race
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. race — a contest
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — final
  13. net — in sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. net — for catching
  21. suit — clothes
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. net — after costs

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