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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: chair · straw · roll · fine · chest · wind · lean · toast

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chair — a leader
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chest — a box
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lean — thin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fine — high quality
  17. chest — of your body
  18. roll — a list
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. roll — a cake

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