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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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468
Word bank
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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — a group
  10. pass — a permit
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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