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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a match
  3. bound — certain
  4. rash — a series
  5. staff — employees
  6. last — final
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. last — finally
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wind — moving air
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bound — tied together
  16. staff — employees
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bound — obliged
  24. sharp — clever

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