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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · date · lean · chair · bowl · rock · wind · squash

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — thin
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rock — a stone
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rock — music
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — to bend
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. date — the fruit
  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