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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.

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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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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: rush · wind · toast · pitcher · club · chair · race · fan

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — bread
  7. club — a group
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. race — humankind
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. club — for golf
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chair — a leader
  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