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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. ground — the earth
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. ground — crushed
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mark — a grade
  14. rush — hurry
  15. suit — to fit
  16. ground — a position
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. suit — in cards
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chair — a leader
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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