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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. last — final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — a thing
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. drill — army training
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — to go on
  17. object — to protest
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. object — an aim
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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