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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 116 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 · mark · wind · kid · bass · kick · trunk · fan

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — child
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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