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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: cap · chair · toast · race · field · snap · mate · cue

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. snap — to click
  3. mate — to breed
  4. race — humankind
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chair — a leader
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mate — a friend
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. race — a contest
  20. toast — bread
  21. cap — of ice
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. field — for sport

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