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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 120 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. hand — help
  14. land — to come down
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. land — ground
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ball — a great time
  22. land — a country
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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