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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — a leader
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chip — for betting
  10. hand — in cards
  11. shower — rain
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stand — to bear
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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