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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: pop · saw · wind · bear · stand · shower · chair · lie

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. saw — the tool
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pop — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bear — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stand — to bear
  21. shower — rain
  22. pop — soda
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stand — for spectators

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