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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 120 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: sharp · stick · drill · rest · wind · chair · bound · pit

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rest — a break
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rest — what's left
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. rest — what's left
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bound — certain

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