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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: wind · rash · bound · kid · deal · chair · straw · current

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. current — happening now
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rash — hasty
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bound — obliged
  21. chair — a leader
  22. current — electric
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kid — to tease

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