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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chair — a leader
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. roll — a list
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. row — a line
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wake — a trail
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — of your body
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chest — a box

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