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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: spell · chair · cue · rest · row · race · present · foot

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. race — humankind
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — a line
  8. present — there
  9. race — a contest
  10. foot — a measure
  11. present — the time now
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spell — magic
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spell — letters
  19. cue — for pool
  20. race — the arms race
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. spell — a short time
  24. row — to paddle

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