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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: fan · stick · degree · wind · chair · present · suit · fall

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fall — to drop
  11. suit — in cards
  12. present — there
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fall — the season
  16. present — a gift
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. present — the time now
  19. chair — a leader
  20. degree — temperature
  21. suit — to fit
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wind — moving air

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