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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — a leader
  7. club — for golf
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. club — for dancing
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. club — a group
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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