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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 124 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bank — for money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — what's left
  7. last — finally
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chair — a leader
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bank — of a river
  16. chest — a box
  17. rest — a break
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. last — to go on
  20. bank — for money
  21. last — final
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — moving air

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