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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: wind · chair · cell · arm · fan · spell · shower · pop

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pop — soda
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. shower — rain
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — magic
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pop — music

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