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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 120 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 · wake · chair · drill · mine · fall · pitch · ruler

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — the season
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chair — a leader
  11. drill — army training
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pitch — completely
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wake — a trail

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