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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: chair · mark · suit · clip · foot · rest · spring · wind

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rest — what's left
  4. suit — in cards
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. suit — to fit
  10. spring — the season
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — of water
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. suit — clothes
  19. mark — a trace
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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