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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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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: wind · deal · chair · mine · kick · bay

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chair — a leader
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bay — a horse colour

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