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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. present — a gift
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — the time now
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. race — a contest
  12. net — in sport
  13. cell — a phone
  14. net — after costs
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. cue — a signal
  18. race — humankind
  19. cue — for pool
  20. last — finally
  21. net — for catching
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. present — there

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