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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kick — in football
  3. row — a line
  4. ground — a position
  5. cap — of ice
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. staff — employees
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cap — a hat
  14. ground — crushed
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. staff — employees
  23. ground — the earth
  24. row — to paddle

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