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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: chair · wind · game · craft · capital · bass · suit · rush

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. suit — clothes
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rush — hurry
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. suit — to fit
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bass — low music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. suit — in cards
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. craft — boats
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chair — a leader

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