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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: chair · hide · coach · pass · content · fall · wind · craft

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. craft — boats
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chair — a leader
  24. coach — a trainer

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