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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: rock · wind · chest · shower · bay · chair

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chest — a box
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rock — a stone
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. shower — rain
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rock — to move gently
  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