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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · game · wind · tube · chair · roll · chest · date

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. roll — a list
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — a box
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fine — all right
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — the fruit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tube — a container
  15. roll — a cake
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. tube — the underground
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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