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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 · rest · suit · wind · kid · ground

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. suit — to fit
  4. ground — a position
  5. suit — in cards
  6. kid — child
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. suit — clothes

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