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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: wind · roll · fall · chair · rest · stock · rush · pit

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fall — to drop
  4. roll — a list
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fall — the season
  7. stock — shares
  8. rest — what's left
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rest — a break
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — a leader
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stock — goods
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — hurry

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