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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 116 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: wound · chair · mine · rush · content · rest · craft · stick

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. content — happy
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rest — a break
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. craft — boats
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. content — the amount
  22. rush — hurry
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mine — for digging

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