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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 · chair · object · coach · plane · nail · tear · mark

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. object — a thing
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chair — a leader
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. object — an aim
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mark — a trace
  24. plane — a tool

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