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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 120 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: fan · firm · game · wound · chest · chair

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. firm — decided
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. firm — steady
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. firm — a company
  15. chest — a box
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fan — to cool the air

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