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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 120 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: chair · bound · coach · wind · fall · rash · pass · wake

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fall — the season
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bound — obliged
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bound — certain
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rash — a series
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pass — a permit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wind — to turn a key

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