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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: row · cap · wake · plane · race · stick · bound · chair

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bound — certain
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. row — a line
  7. race — a contest
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bound — tied together
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cap — a hat
  16. chair — a leader
  17. race — humankind
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bound — obliged
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cap — of ice

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