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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pop — music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. craft — a skill
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pop — soda
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. race — humankind
  16. field — farmland
  17. rule — a law
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rule — government
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. craft — boats
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. pop — to visit

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