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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: rest · chair · clip · rule · wind · lie · shower · cabinet

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lie — to recline
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — a law
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. shower — rain
  8. clip — a video
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rule — government
  13. rest — a break
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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