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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — in sport
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. staff — a stick
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bound — certain
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — after costs
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bound — obliged
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. club — for golf
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fall — to drop
  20. net — for catching
  21. bound — tied together
  22. club — a group
  23. staff — employees
  24. bass — the fish

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