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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. leaves — of a tree

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