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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · key · race · wave · mate · chair · land · pound

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — humankind
  3. pound — a weight
  4. race — a contest
  5. hand — help
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mate — a friend
  15. land — to come down
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. key — for a lock
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. hand — in cards

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