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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: chair · lie · cap · game · wake · wind · mate · scale

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mate — a partner
  4. scale — in music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a match
  7. mate — to breed
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cap — a lid
  16. chair — a leader
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — wild animals
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cap — of ice

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