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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: stand · row · chair · face · pop · wind · last · drill

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. last — to go on
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — final
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. last — finally
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. drill — army training
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pop — soda
  17. stand — to bear
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. row — a quarrel
  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