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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 · kid · game · last · content · rush · chair · lie

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. last — final
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rush — hurry
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — to go on
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — the amount
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a leader
  21. kid — child
  22. last — finally
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chair — a professorship

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