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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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Word bank
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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: race · cabinet · cue · last · spell · staff · chair · pop

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spell — letters
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. last — to go on
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — a short time
  10. staff — employees
  11. cue — a hint
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pop — soda
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. last — final
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. spell — magic
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pop — music
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. race — humankind

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