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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: wind · chair · degree · bay · clip · racket

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — from a university
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. degree — an amount

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