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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. 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. kid — child
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — final
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. content — happy
  18. 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