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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: tear · firm · game · chair · arm · kid · stick · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. firm — a company
  13. chair — a leader
  14. firm — steady
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. firm — decided
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. tear — to rip

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