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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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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: cap · wind · rock · stand · chair · racket · pitcher · straw

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stand — to bear
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rock — music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rock — a stone
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. racket — for tennis

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