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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · wind · chair · file · mate · cabinet

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document

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