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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: drill · chest · wind · leaves · ball · chair · racket · wake

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. drill — a practice
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chest — a box
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. drill — army training
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ball — a great time
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. drill — the 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