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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: wind · chair · tube · hide · rule · content · stick · court

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rule — a law
  11. court — of a king
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. content — the amount
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. content — happy
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. rule — government
  22. chair — a leader
  23. tube — a container
  24. hide — to keep secret

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