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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. capital — a city
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. lie — to recline
  22. capital — money
  23. wind — moving air
  24. deal — an agreement

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