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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: cabinet · chair · wind · lie · bowl · calf · field · bay

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lie — to recline
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. field — farmland
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cabinet — ministers

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