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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 120 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: wind · degree · content · fall · chair · temple · racket · craft

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fall — to drop
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fall — to drop
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. craft — a skill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — boats
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fall — the season
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. content — happy
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. content — the amount
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — a leader
  24. temple — a place of worship

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