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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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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: tear · chair · wind · pound · pass · present

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — there
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. tear — to rip
  13. present — the time now
  14. pound — a weight
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. present — a gift
  18. wind — to turn a key

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