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

Word bank: shower · chair · rule · calf · last · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. rule — a law
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a leader
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — government
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. last — final

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