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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. firm — decided
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rule — a law
  5. tube — a container
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. capital — a city
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — steady
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rule — government
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. tube — the underground
  20. capital — money
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wake — a trail
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bark — to shout

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