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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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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: chair · tear · leaves · wind · swing · drill

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. swing — in golf
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tear — from crying
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — to rip
  13. drill — army training
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. swing — to play on
  16. drill — the tool
  17. swing — music
  18. drill — a practice

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