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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: cold · chair · wind · foot · rest · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rest — a break
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — a leader
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — what's left

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