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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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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: spell · chair · kick · pass · tear · bowl · wind · fan

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spell — letters
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. kick — in football
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bowl — to roll

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