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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — a leader
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fall — the season
  8. kick — in football
  9. band — a music group
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. band — a ring
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. swing — music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. swing — to play on
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fall — to drop

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