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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tube — a container
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — money
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — the underground
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. capital — a city
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — a big letter

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