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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: rush · deal · straw · wind · perch · chair · track · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a leader
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. track — to keep track
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pit — in a race
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. track — a path
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — to handle
  22. track — a song
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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