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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: mate · wake · chair · bay · wind · straw

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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