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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · mate · race · cue · scale · mine · chair · game

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. game — a match
  4. scale — size or range
  5. race — humankind
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. race — a contest
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cue — a signal
  16. land — ground
  17. mate — a friend
  18. land — a country
  19. scale — in music
  20. land — to come down
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mine — for digging
  24. scale — for weighing

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