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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chair — a leader
  4. present — the time now
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. present — there
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — the tool
  9. present — a gift
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — from a university
  12. drill — a practice
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. drill — army training
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — the Cold War

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