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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. court — of law
  9. chair — a leader
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bore — to drill
  12. court — of a king
  13. pop — music
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — to tire
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. fall — the season
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fall — to drop

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