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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: fall · game · chest · tube · stick · key · pound · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. key — for a lock
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — the underground
  10. game — a match
  11. chest — a box
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — the season
  18. key — in music
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tube — a container

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