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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitcher · rush · pit · wind · bound · content · key

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chair — a leader
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. key — in music
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — certain
  19. content — the amount
  20. bound — obliged
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. content — happy
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pit — a hole

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