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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: chair · fan · wind · shower · bark · wound · deal · mark

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mark — a trace
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — rain
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mark — to pay attention

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