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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ball — a dance
  3. last — final
  4. lean — thin
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — a leader
  7. last — finally
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ball — a great time
  20. last — to go on
  21. band — a music group
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. band — a ring
  24. chair — a professorship

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