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

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hand — help
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — the season
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mate — a partner
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. fall — to drop

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