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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: object · stem · wind · shower · row · chair · firm · chest

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. firm — a company
  3. shower — to wash
  4. firm — decided
  5. shower — rain
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — to come from
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — of your body
  15. firm — steady
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. row — a line
  20. object — a thing
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. object — an aim

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