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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: chair · current · bound · last · leaves · cap · pitcher · race

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. last — final
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. last — to go on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bound — obliged
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. last — finally
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. race — humankind
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — electric
  18. bound — certain
  19. cap — a lid
  20. race — a contest
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bound — tied together
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. chair — a professorship

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